Nghe An: Many lakes dry up, risk of water shortage for rice production

Article: Van Truong - Editor: Lam Tung• DNUM_CGZAEZCACB 09:51

(Baonghean.vn) - At this stage, the rice is forming ears and blooming, but some lakes and dams in Nghe An have dried up, affecting the growth of rice plants. The risk of water shortage for the next summer-autumn crop is very high.

Many lakes dry up

At the end of April, some areasVe Vung ReservoirIn Dong Thanh commune - the largest reservoir in Yen Thanh district, many areas have run out of water to the point that buffalo and cows can go to the middle of the lake to graze.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Trang - Head of Nam Reservoir Cluster (Yen Thanh Irrigation Enterprise) said: Ve Vung Reservoir has a capacity of 22 million m²water, irrigating over 500 hectares of rice in 7 communes of Yen Thanh district. Due to little rain in this area in 2020, the water level in Ve Vung reservoir only reached over 28.6% of its capacity. Therefore, in hot weather, some rice areas at the end of the canal in Dong Thanh and Phuc Thanh communes will lack water. To solve this situation, Ve Vung reservoir is currently opening water in batches, condensing water from the far areas to irrigate first, then from the near areas, and supplementing water from Quan Hai reservoir to irrigate rice.

Một số khu vực lòng hồ Vệ Vừng cạn khô nước. Ảnh: Văn Trường

Some areas of Ve Vung Lake have dried up. Photo: Van Truong

Yen Thanh district has over 154 large reservoirs, currently there are 7 large reservoirs managed by Bac Irrigation Company Limited.water level drop seriously.

According to the report of Yen Thanh District People's Committee, the above 7 reservoirs irrigate over 1,883 hectares of spring rice. Currently, due to low temperatures and some rains, the irrigation water source is stable. However, if the hot weather continues at the end of the season, there will be a shortage of over 300 hectares, concentrated in Dong Thanh, Hung Thanh, Phuc Thanh communes... Due to the serious shortage of water, the above 7 reservoirs can only irrigate 581 hectares/1,883 hectares of summer-autumn crop. Therefore, some rice areas lacking water will be converted to grow other crops.

Khe Gang Lake in Ngoc Son Commune, Quynh Luu District irrigates 158 hectares of rice, but currently only has over 30% of its water capacity. A representative of Quynh Luu Irrigation Enterprise said: With the current water level, it can only meet the needs of the spring crop, and there will be a shortage of water for the summer-autumn crop. The local government has a plan to convert 158 hectares from rice to other crops.

Graphics: Lam Tung

Not only Yen Thanh district, Tan Ky district also has many reservoirs with decreasing water levels. According to the report, the whole district has 130 large and small reservoirs, currently most of the reservoirs only reach water levels of 35 - 40%, of which some reservoirs only reach 25 - 30% of capacity.

The whole Nghia Hanh commune has 13 reservoirs, currently 3 reservoirs have only about 25-30% of their capacity, including Coc Lim reservoir, Ba Duong reservoir, and Da reservoir. To ensure irrigation water, the commune has directed hamlets to encourage people to use small pumps to take advantage of pond, stream, and creek water to irrigate rice. For reservoirs that still have water, the irrigation teams of hamlets have opened water to save water. The whole Nghia Hanh commune cultivates 399 hectares of spring rice, mainly depending on the reservoir water source. Because the reservoir water is increasingly depleted, the summer-autumn rice cultivation will be difficult, and the commune will have to convert some rice areas to grow other crops.

Mr. Dao Cong Nam - Vice Chairman of People's Committee of Nghia Hanh Commune (Tan Ky)

Make full use of water sources for rice irrigation

To proactively combat drought, Yen Thanh district is coordinating with irrigation units to prepare plans to place field pumps in some areas of streams, creeks, and dead-end rivers, pumping water back up to "save" rice during the hot season. There is a plan to pump water from Ve Vung lake in Dong Thanh commune and Don Hung lake in Hung Thanh commune to irrigate rice, ensuring there is no shortage of water for the spring crop.
In Tan Ky district, the district has directed localities to regulate water reasonably, saving water for summer-autumn rice. Focus on dredging, clearing trees, clearing weeds to clear canals, overcoming water loss on canals managed by the locality; building embankments in areas and plots, implementing economical and scientific irrigation, ensuring water sources are used for the right purposes, absolutely not wasting water.

Lòng hồ Khe Gang, Ngọc Sơn (Quỳnh Lưu) làm nơi phơi gỗ ép. Ảnh: Văn Trường

Khe Gang Lake, Ngoc Son (Quynh Luu) is used as a place to dry plywood. Photo: Van Truong

At Khe Chung reservoir in Tao Son commune (Anh Son), irrigating 300 hectares of rice, there is currently 40% of irrigation water left. The irrigation management unit has pumped additional Lam River water to irrigate over 100 hectares, reserving reservoir water for the summer-autumn crop.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Thanh - Head of Nghe An Irrigation Sub-Department said that the whole province has 1,061 reservoirs, of which 98 are managed by state-owned enterprises, the rest are managed by local districts and communes. At this time, over 30% of the number of reservoirs managed by localities have reduced water levels, reaching only 25 - 30%. To ensure water sources for spring rice irrigation, Nghe An Irrigation Sub-Department has proposed solutions such as organizing strict management of water sources, operating works reasonably, regulating water in each stage suitable to crop requirements. Localities need to focus on dredging canals, embankments, and field embankments; reinforcing dams, pumping, inspecting, repairing, and renovating works. Irrigation units coordinate with local authorities to set up field pumping stations to make full use of water sources for rice irrigation. In case of water shortage, use oil pump to pump water from the lake bed, in areas with other water sources, use support pump to the end of the canal.

Ve Nong reservoir in Yen Thanh town is dry. Photo: VT

With many reservoirs drying up, the risk of water shortages for the summer-autumn crop is imminent. The Irrigation Department has requested localities to balance water sources; For reservoirs that cannot ensure irrigation water sources, it is necessary to have a plan to change crop structure. Urging and speeding up the construction progress of reservoirs and canals being upgraded in the province to store water in time for the upcoming summer-autumn crop./.