Quynh Luu: Many measures to save irrigation water

(Baonghean) - The average rainfall at the end of 2014 and the forecast for the first months of 2015 is very low, most of the dams in Quynh Luu district are lacking water at an alarming level. To ensure water for production and daily life of the people, Quynh Luu district is currently coordinating with the Irrigation Enterprise to implement many effective water saving solutions.

Ba Tuy Lake in the mountainous commune of Quynh Tan has a capacity of about 5.4 million m3 to provide irrigation water for more than 200 hectares of agricultural land and domestic water for the people of Quynh Tan commune. This is considered one of the three largest reservoirs in Quynh Luu. However, in 2014, the rainfall was very low, so the amount of water stored at Ba Tuy Lake only reached about 50 to 60% of its capacity. To ensure the safety of the dam as well as create conditions for water storage in the following crops, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district decided to upgrade and renovate the bottom culvert with concrete and the stone embankment of the dam body. The project is invested by Bac Nghe An Irrigation Company Limited with a budget of over 30 billion VND. The expected construction time is 2 years, but to ensure irrigation water for rice production, the district has directed the company to speed up the progress to shorten the time to 1 year, assigning the responsibility to Quynh Luu Irrigation Enterprise to regularly inspect and urge the progress of the project. According to the original plan, Quynh Tan commune had to endure 4 rice crops without water for production, but now it has been reduced to 2 crops. In addition, during the process of draining water from the reservoir, the district also directed the construction unit to pump slowly so that people can take advantage of the water to irrigate other plants and crops.

Checking the progress of intra-field ditch construction in Quynh Van commune (Quynh Luu).

In addition to the project to upgrade Ba Tuy Lake, in 2014, Quynh Luu district also coordinated with the Irrigation Enterprise to review the current status of many weak intra-field canals to invest in cement and concrete reinforcement of the canal bottoms, to avoid loss of irrigation water such as dredging the N17 canal, nearly 5.5 km long, cleaning the corridor of the main Do Luong canal... with a total length of over 30 km, costing over 1 billion VND.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Hy, Director of Quynh Luu Irrigation Enterprise said: “In 2014, the measured rainfall in the area was very low, only reaching 60%, so currently the lakes and dams of Quynh Luu are lacking water. From that situation, Bac Nghe An Irrigation Company Limited coordinated with Quynh Luu district to direct the enterprise to dredge canals to ensure water circulation. At the same time, the Enterprise has established a specific short-term water intake schedule, applying the most effective water-saving irrigation measures. Currently, basically the rice growing area in the area has water for flooding, sowing, and taking care of seedlings. Since January 20, we have released water for the second time so that people can proactively prepare the land and sow. Particularly, the Do Luong canal system and Nam Vuc Mau canal ensure smooth flow from the beginning of the crop to the end of the crop schedule”.

Quynh Luu district currently has 4 large dams and dozens of kilometers of irrigation systems spread across 33 communes and towns. To ensure enough water for the 2015 spring crop, since October 2014, Quynh Luu district has developed a plan to mobilize the entire population to work on irrigation. After 1 month of operation, the entire district has dredged over 25 kilometers of main canals, dug and filled 3,000 cubic meters of soil, and cleared the flow of 35,000 meters of intra-field canals. The main canals have been cleaned and cleared to ensure water is brought to the fields. In addition, to save irrigation water, Quynh Luu Irrigation Enterprise has also planned to regulate water discharge for communes and towns in a specific way, avoiding the situation of having excess water in some places and shortages in others. Up to this point, localities in the agricultural region such as Quynh Van, Quynh Thach, Quynh Hoa, Quynh Hau, Quynh Hong, Quynh Hung, Quynh Giang, Quynh Dien... have proactively had water sources for planting.

Mr. Ho Huu Giao - Chairman of Nam Son Cooperative, Quynh Van Commune added: "Based on the 2015 winter-spring crop schedule, Quynh Luu District has proactively implemented earlier. It is expected that this year the water level in the dams will be low, with a risk of water shortage for production. However, with the direction of the district and the attention of the Irrigation Enterprise, the water flow has been ensured up to now. More than 300 hectares of rice of Nam Son Cooperative members have enough water to prepare the land and sow rice seedlings. From January 28, planting will be carried out, striving to close the area before Tet."

In the spring crop of 2015, Quynh Luu district plans to plant more than 13 thousand hectares of various crops. Of which, the rice area is 7,400 hectares. Currently, about 60% of the rice cultivation area has enough water to prepare the soil. As for the communes in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, the second water supply plan is from January 25 to 30. This year, the irrigation water source is limited, so the areas that often suffer from drought in the middle and end of the crop, the district also directed the communes to change the crop structure to peanuts, corn, potatoes, and vegetables to replace rice to avoid crop failure and wasted care.

Nhu Thuy