Many flood drainage culverts in Nghe An were severely damaged.

Nghi Quang bara sewer system is located in Nghi Quang and Nghi Thiet communes, district.Nghi Lochas a very important role, being the largest flood drainage sluice of the Southern irrigation system, preventing salinity, keeping fresh water, serving irrigation production for the Southern Nghe An region with 23,000 hectares of rice, industrial zones, and people of Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen districts and Vinh city. However, over the years, this important drainage sluice has been seriously damaged.

Mr. Hoang Van Huong - Station Chief of Nghi Quang Station said: The sewer system has 12 automatic gates, but all the spaces are broken, the flat valve gate, the arc gate, the automatic door lock are all broken, the traffic bridge is degraded, the bridge beams are broken. In 2022, the Provincial People's Committee has repaired 6 sluice gates, currently there are 6 sluice gates that are seriously degraded, in the hot season, these gates are all inundated by salt water through the gate leaks. To deal with the salt water intrusion caused by the leaking sewer system, we have to roll up old blankets and hire divers to "insert" them.

During flood season, the sewer must discharge 400 m.³/s, but the lock system is broken so it cannot actively drain the flood. Especially water hyacinth and all kinds of garbage are poured in from everywhere, workers have to manually salvage them every day. In the long term, the Nghi Quang bara system needs to be upgraded, otherwise the flood drainage will be very difficult, not to mention the increased salinity intrusion, affecting the quality of water resources.

Also in the same situation, the Ben Thuy sewer system was built during the French colonial period. After more than 80 years of use, it has now degraded. The iron sluice gates are rusted, full of holes, and have many large gaps, leading to saltwater intrusion in the neighboring fields, affecting the quality of domestic water.

To overcome this situation, Nam Irrigation Company Limited has invested in a dam system, but this is only a temporary solution. The worrying thing is that the flood season is coming, while the sewer system is degraded, drainage will be very difficult.

Mr. Bui Van Hao - representative of Nam Irrigation Company Limited said:The Southern irrigation system currently has 5 important drainage culverts including Nghi Quang culvert, Ben Thuy culvert, Thuong Xa culvert, Nghi Khanh culvert, and Hoa Thai spillway (Nghi Loc district). Most of the drainage culvert systems were invested and built before the 1980s and have now been degraded.

In addition, the Sa Tran drainage culvert in Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district is currently seriously degraded. The Sa Tran drainage culvert system is very important, with 5 gates, combined with a 12-meter long main traffic road, draining floodwater on the Vu Giang river for 5 communes: Cong Thanh, My Thanh, Lien Thanh, Ly Thanh, Khanh Thanh. Not to mention, this culvert also holds irrigation water for over 400 hectares of rice and domestic water for thousands of households.

But now all 5 sluice gates are punctured, both sides of the sluice gate are broken, some locations on the sluice gate have collapsed and water is leaking. The sluice gate system is mainly operated manually so it is very difficult to operate. During the rainy season, the water level rises, the Khanh Thanh sluice gate is always on alert, fearing that the sluice gate will break and cause flooding and cut off many communes.

According to the report of Nghe An Irrigation Department: Nghe An currently has over 20 flood drainage culverts for localities such as Vinh City, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Hoang Mai town... However, currently only Dien Thanh and Dien Chau drainage culverts have been newly built, while most of the remaining drainage systems are degraded.

Currently, the irrigation sector and localities mainly allocate funds for temporary repairs. During the rainy season, the drainage sluices do not operate effectively. In the long term, it is necessary to receive more attention from the State and related sectors to support funding to upgrade and build new drainage sluices, in order to contribute to flood drainage, prevent salinity and retain freshwater more effectively.