Dam safety risk - comes back as scheduled

(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An is a province with over 650 dams, many of which were built long ago and have deteriorated. Due to limited funding, annual repairs are only temporary. Therefore, every rainy and stormy season, dam safety becomes a concern for local authorities and people.

Don Hung Dam in Hung Thanh Commune - Yen Thanh was built in 1973.

For many years, hundreds of households in Hung Thanh commune, Yen Thanh have always felt insecure about the safety of Don Hung dam every time the storm season comes. Mr. Phan Quang in hamlet 6 near the dam body area said: "Every time the rainy season comes, the dam water rises, so we have to proactively move our belongings to another hamlet to protect our lives." Through observation, we saw that the dam body is quite thin, the breakwater is cracked, and many sections have termite nests.

Mr. Tran Van Trung - Chairman of Hung Thanh Commune People's Committee said: During the flood season, the dam body is weak, so this reservoir directly threatens the lives of 6 hamlets, with over 700 households, especially hamlets 5, 6, 7, 8 located in the middle of the dam area. In the flood season of 2014, the flood water rose high, the Northern Irrigation Company Ltd. had to use measures to break more spillways to protect the dam bank from breaking. Every year, the Company also fixes the problem; opens more spillways to release floodwaters, mends landslides, builds the dike roof, raises the dam body... however, the fear of a dam breaking "recurs".

Don Hung Lake in Hung Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh) was built in 1973 with a capacity of over 5.4 million m3 of water, irrigating 380 hectares and providing water for daily life and flood prevention for people in 4 communes: Hung Thanh, Hau Thanh, Lang Thanh and Tien Thanh. Up to this point, the lake has seriously degraded, the dam body has sunk in many places, causing cracks in the wave-breaking wall and the downstream rock roof.

Don Hung Dam is in disrepair.

Bac Irrigation Company Limited is located in the district and manages 17 large and small dams in 4 districts: Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu. Currently, only 10 reservoirs have been upgraded. The remaining dams have not been upgraded, and the risk of dam failure when the flood season comes is very high.

In Yen Thanh, there are also many locally managed dams in a state of disrepair. Thi Long reservoir in Quang Nhan hamlet, Quang Thanh commune - Yen Thanh has a capacity of about 700,000 m3 but is mainly earthen. This dam has broken, causing flooding for many households in Quang Nhan, more dangerously, it has poured water into Ve Vung lake, threatening the large Ve Vung dam.

In Quynh Luu, Khe Gang Lake with a capacity of 1 million cubic meters of water in Ngoc Son Commune, Quynh Luu, built in the 1970s, is now like a water "bomb" when floods come. Mr. Van Bai in Hamlet 4A, Ngoc Son Commune shared: During the rainy season, most villagers stay up all night, and as soon as the water rises to the edge of the dam, they have to evacuate to another hamlet to take refuge.

Ho Quan Hai - Phuc Thanh - Yen Thanh is investing in upgrading

Mr. Ho Van Lap, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Son Commune, added: In 2005, the Khe Gang reservoir was flooded and the dam bank collapsed. In 2006, the commune received financial support from the State to "patch" the downstream and upstream banks. However, the dam body is weak and gradually thinning. Ho Thanh Dam with a capacity of 10 million m3, in Nam Kim Commune, Nam Dan District, was built in 1961, serving irrigation for hundreds of hectares of rice and has also leaked many times. Regarding Khe Da Dam in Nam Loc (Nam Dan), in 2013, prolonged heavy rains caused water flow through the spillway of Khe Da Dam to flood the downstream area of ​​the dam, affecting nearly 250 households and schools in Nam Loc.

Currently, Nghe An is mobilizing World Bank capital to repair the dam.

Nam Kim - Nam Dan dam spills over, Nam Kim residents have to travel by boat. CT photo

Van Truong