Water discharged from upstream dam of Mekong River reaches the West

In recent days, people in the upstream provinces in the West have been excited and started planting summer-autumn rice when water from dams from China and Laos flows in.

Since March 27, at the headwaters of the Hau River, the amount of water flowing in has increased every day. Photo: AX

People in the upstream areas of Tien and Hau rivers in Dong Thap and An Giang provinces have been sowing summer-autumn rice in recent days and are very excited as the water level in the river system and canals in the fields is more abundant.

"My 15 hectares of rice are two weeks old, and I'm quite worried because the water in the canal is running out. But in the past three days, the water level has increased by more than 30 centimeters. People here are very happy. If the water level stays like this for more than a month, it will rain and we won't have to worry about water shortage anymore," said old farmer Le Van Lam (66 years old, Tan Hong district, Dong Thap province).

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Buong - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Hong Ngu District, Dong Thap Province (upstream of the Tien River), currently it is the low water season, but due to the large amount of water flowing from upstream, the water level is still 20-30 cm higher than before. "This is very beneficial for the 12,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice of local people. The water source carrying alluvium will help farmers reduce irrigation costs. As for households raising fish in cages and ponds, there will be a new source of water to replace, reducing the worry of pollution," said Mr. Buong.

In An Phu district,An Giang province(headwaters of Hau River), knowing that the water is coming, people are also preparing to plant 18,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice. In addition to dredging thedozens of irrigation canals, cThe government also recommends that people proactively store fresh water for daily life and production.

"The district authorities opened irrigation sluices to bring water into the canal system so that people could pump it up to grow rice and take care of more than 4,000 hectares of vegetables," said Mr. Nguyen Van Thao, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Phu district.

According to Mr. Luu Van Ninh - Director of An Giang Province Hydrometeorological Station -Water volume from upstream flows into branches of Tien and Hau riversincrease 0.2 - 0.4 m per dayAs it is now, it can meet the irrigation needs of the Long Xuyen Quadrangle. In addition, the salinity of An Giang province and the areas bordering Kien Giang province has also been pushed back.

"With the upcoming high tide and China's current stable dam discharge, the water flow is likely to continue to increase until April 6," Mr. Ninh predicted.

People in the Long Xuyen quadrangle take advantage of the opportunity to pump water into their fields. Photo: AX

InCan Tho,Over the past few days, the amount of water in rivers and canals has increased more than before. The salinity measured at the stations has decreased sharply, ranging from 0.09 to 0.19‰ (in early March, it was up to 1.5-2.5‰).

Fresh water also flows along the Hau River.Soc Trang. HCurrently, the canals in Ke Sach and Chau Thanh districts have fresh water and salinity has been pushed back."DSalinity measured in the last days of March at the highest canals on the Hau River was from 8.5-24.5‰, now it is only 0.6‰",Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Huynh Ngoc Van said.

According to Mr. Ha Tan Viet - Head of the Irrigation Sub-Department of Soc Trang province - to proactively receive the amount of fresh water discharged from China, the industry has directed all irrigation systems to always be open and widely announced to people the schedule for getting fresh water.

"The current amount of fresh water has reduced the damaged area to less than 30% in Ke Sach and Chau Thanh districts..., saving about 2,000 hectares of rice in the flowering stage," said Mr. Viet.

And Mr. Luong Ngoc Lan - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the provinceBac LieuIt is estimated that fresh water from the Hau River through the Phung Hiep Canal will be available in the next one or two days, but it will be very little because this locality is located at the end of the source. However, the agricultural sector has directed the opening of all irrigation sluices bordering Soc Trang to receive fresh water.

Meanwhile, the provinceBen Tre- the area most affected by drought and salinity - because it is located at the end of the source, it is still surrounded by salt. People here are still waiting for fresh water. "It is expected that in"In the next 2 days, fresh water from upstream will reach Cho Lach district (about 70 km from the sea)," said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Liem, Head of the Agriculture Department of Cho Lach district.

Natural disasters such as drought and salinity have affected hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice, crops... of the people. Photo: AX

VThe Southern Institute of Water Resources has just issued an urgent notice on salinity intrusion and water intake in the Mekong Delta. Accordingly, in April, coastal provinces, within 25-40 km of the sea, will have fresh water. The Institute recommends that localities focus on maximizing means of getting fresh water. In particular, pay special attention to opening sluices in the Go Cong and Nam Mang Thit freshwater systems...

Up to now, 9 out of 12 provinces in the West affected by drought and saline intrusion have declared a state of natural disaster. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice, sugarcane, fruit trees, crops, and aquaculture areas have been damaged; more than 1 million people lack fresh water for use. In many places, people have to buy river water and well water at the price of 150,000-200,000 VND per cubic meter...

Previously, China announced that it would release water from a hydroelectric dam in Yunnan Province from mid-March to April 10 to help relieve drought in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam. Laos then also decided to release water from several hydroelectric dams until the end of May to increase the flow of water into the Mekong River, helping Vietnam deal with drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

According to VNE