The road to Quynh Thang commune is now much more convenient than it was about 10 years ago when I first arrived. From Cau Giat town, I decided to go north along National Highway 1A to Quynh Xuan intersection (Hoang Mai town) and then back along National Highway 48E to Quynh Thang. For a long time, this has also become a flood avoidance road for vehicles whenever National Highway 1A through Hoang Mai town or Quynh Luu district is deeply flooded. Amidst the vast mountain shadows, Vuc Mau lake gradually appears. During the rainy season, the lake water rises. The water rises close to the road. In the distance, the silvery mud marks are still imprinted on the mountain edges.
Mr. Ho Dien Thanh - Vice Chairman of Quynh Thang Commune People's Committee welcomed us with a firm handshake and did not forget to add a word of admiration: "In the past, when mentioning Quynh Thang, people immediately thought of a remote mountainous commune. But now, this area is filled with water with Vuc Mau Irrigation Lake producing hundreds of tons of aquatic products, with an average production value of more than 10 billion VND per year. Thanks to the water of Vuc Mau Lake, the total cultivated area of the commune has reached 1,229 hectares per year with rice, corn, sugarcane, pineapple, orange, tangerine...".
Looking at the map, Quynh Thang commune lies entirely within the basin of Vuc Mau lake, with a total natural area of 4,010.12 hectares. The water veins of the lake run through the acacia and pineapple hills like blood vessels, unintentionally creating deep green oases. Vuc Mau lake is the largest artificial reservoir in the province to date. The water source of the lake is the flow of Hoang Mai river, originating from small streams in Nghia Dan district and the west of Quynh Luu district.
In the beginning, Hoang Mai River originated from Nhu Xuan and Nhu Thanh districts in the southwest of Thanh Hoa province, flowing through Nghia Dan district, winding through the mountainous forest area in the west of Quynh Luu district, stretching over 44 km, then flowing east to Con estuary. Today, the headwaters of Hoang Mai River are Muc Mau Lake in Quynh Thang and Tan Thang communes. Since the construction of Vuc Mau Lake, the length of the river has decreased to only 19.4 km.
According to “Quynh Luu Cultural Geography” by Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao, during the reign of Emperor Tang Tuyen Tong (860-874), Cao Bien mobilized the people to dig two canals, Hoang Mai canal and Do Cam canal, so that water could flow down to the sea. Hoang Mai canal flows from Tinh Gia (Thanh Hoa) to the Nong Doan – Hoang Mai dike, around the hamlets of Dong Quanh, Di Le, Cho Tre, Tan An (Quynh Loc), meets the lower reaches of Hoang Mai river at the junction going to Quynh Lap, Quynh Phuong and then flows out to Con estuary…
Many elders in Quynh Thang commune also told that during the French colonial period, along with the project to bring water from Do Luong bara to Dien - Yen - Quynh fields, the colonial government had planned to build a dam to block Hoang Mai river to irrigate Hoang Mai area, but then, due to the war, it could not be implemented. It was not until 1978, when the country was unified, that Vuc Mau lake was started to be built. Over the course of 10 years, millions of cubic meters of soil and rock were dug and built by the hands of young volunteers. In 1983, Vuc Mau lake was partially irrigated and by 1988 it was completed, becoming a cool water basin, irrigating the vast golden season of Hoang Mai.
Currently, the basin area of Vuc Mau Lake is up to 215 km2, in which the normal water level is 21m and the reinforced water level is 22.72m. The reservoir area extends from Tan Thang commune, through Quynh Thang commune to Quynh Trang commune with a capacity of about 75 million cubic meters of water. This reservoir is responsible for providing irrigation water for an area of more than 3,431 hectares of agricultural land, providing water for aquaculture for 400 hectares, and providing domestic water for more than 140,000 people in 10 wards and communes of Hoang Mai town and some other communes of Quynh Luu district.
Vu Mau Lake is located not far from the estuary, while Hoang Mai River, the main stream to drain this irrigation lake, is not long, and the slope is not large. Vu Mau Lake basin has an average annual rainfall of up to 1,594 mm. The rainy season starts from August to November, so floods also appear during this period.
According to calculations, if the lake water level reaches the normal water level of 21 - 21.5m, 8 households in Tan Thang and Quynh Thang communes will be flooded; if it reaches 21.61m, 19 households will have water in their yards. If it rises to 22.72m, 487 households in Quynh Thang and Tan Thang communes will be flooded, of which Quynh Thang commune has 413 households and Tan Thang commune has 74 households. Not to mention, when Vuc Mau lake releases floodwaters through 3 gates, 5,363 people will be affected; if 4 spillways are opened, 13,502 people will be affected; and if 5 spillways are opened as designed, the number of people affected will be 26,789 people. This is indeed a difficult choice. Because if the water in Vuc Mau Lake is kept at the correct design elevation, it will prevent flooding for Hoang Mai town, but on the contrary, a large residential area upstream of the lake will be flooded.
Perhaps, when looking at these numbers, many people will be startled, but for the people of Quynh Thang commune, it is different. Since 1988, when this reservoir was completed and put into use, the people of Quynh Thang commune have become too familiar with living with floods. But the floods in Quynh Thang commune are different from the floods around rivers and streams. The floods rise slowly, rising and receding according to the opening of the spillway gate at the Vuc Mau dam. They welcome the flood with an unusual calmness.
Going back in history, Quynh Thang commune was formed in 1954. In the early days of its establishment, the people of Quynh Thang commune had to learn how to grow rice and build farms. In the early 1960s, the Quynh Luu District Party Committee at that time implemented a policy of migrating people from coastal communes to Quynh Thang commune to build a new economy. Many families who were used to rowing and fishing switched to holding hoes and plows to reclaim new land. Gradually, new villages such as Quynh Di, Quynh Phuong, Mai Hung, Quynh Ba, Quynh Ngoc, etc. were established.
Mr. Nguyen Van Quac, currently the Head of the Front Work Committee of Village 5, originally from Quynh Di (today's Hoang Mai town), recounted that in 1967, when he was only 10 years old, he followed his parents to Quynh Thang to live. At that time, in Mr. Quac's innocent, childish eyes, there was the image of a group of people carrying loads, leading each other along the Hoang Mai River to the West and gradually disappearing into the depths of the mountains and forests.
“When we first came here, the upper Hoang Mai River still had many small streams. Households that were used to farming quickly adapted to the new life, but households that were used to fishing had some difficulties. The fishing nets and tools we brought with us had to be stored in the kitchen attic,” Mr. Quac recalled with emotion.
Then, when Vuc Mau Lake was formed, the people from the old fishing village had the opportunity to show off their fishing skills. In village 5, there are currently 246 households, and almost every household has a three-plank boat and a fishing net in their house. Of these, more than 50% of the households have their main income from fishing on Vuc Mau Lake.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Hai - a fisherman of village 5, besides working on a few fields of contracted rice, he spends almost every day floating on the surface of Vuc Mau Lake. On average, he can catch 2-3 tons of fish per day, earning an income of 400-500 thousand VND.
Regarding the story of keeping the water level of Vuc Mau Lake at a height of more than 21m to prevent flooding in Hoang Mai town, which would cause flooding for Quynh Thang commune, both Mr. Thanh - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee and Mr. Quac as well as many people we met considered it normal. Even if the water level of the lake rose to 22.72m, the entire central area of Quynh Thang commune could be deeply flooded.
Currently, behind Mr. Quac's house, close to the edge of the lake, a flood level marker has been built. The marker is marked with red and white lines, using the flood peak of 2013 as a benchmark. After the recent flood in late September, the water has receded but the mud marks are still very clear. Every rainy season, without needing relatives to call, just by going to the backyard and looking up at the water column, they know the situation in their old hometown.
In Quynh Thang, in 2010, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district built a 5-hectare resettlement area to relocate 54 households living around the reservoir. However, many households had raised their gardens and house floors compared to the 2013 flood peak, so they decided not to move anymore but to live together whenever the flood comes.
Quynh Thang people have sacrificed thousands of hectares of land to store water in Vuc Mau reservoir, and every year they continue to suffer losses to keep the water level in the reservoir high and reduce floods in the downstream area. Today, like many other localities, they have joined hands to reach the new rural destination with a total investment of more than 476 billion VND; of which, people contributed funds, donated land, works, trees and invested in renovating houses with more than 279 billion VND... The Party Committee, government and people of Quynh Thang commune are also striving to achieve the advanced new rural standards by 2025.
For more than 30 years, the water of Vuc Mau Lake has flowed downstream, and for the same number of years, the people in the upstream area of this irrigation reservoir have witnessed the ups and downs of the water level. Seeing us off downstream, Mr. Quac said boldly: "If we up here can live with the floods by building gardens and raising the house foundations, in exchange for the safety of our people in the lowlands, then that is also something worth doing!"
