Lam River is dry, many localities are 'thirsty' for water for spring crop production

* InDo Luong districtAlthough the communes in the area have closed the spring rice area, Trung Son commune has only been able to plant 70 hectares, the remaining 150 hectares cannot be planted due to lack of water.

Many rice fields in Trung Son commune (Do Luong) are waiting for water for planting. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

In the fields of Hamlet 1, Trung Son Commune, Do Luong District, many rice fields have not been planted yet because there is no water. Mrs. Le Thi Nhat and many other households have been in the fields since early morning waiting for water to come back but there is still no water. She is very anxious because the seeds have been soaked and it is time to sow.

“I and many other households have been here since 4am waiting for water to enter the fields. The rice has been soaked and grown well, but there is no water to sow…”- Mrs. Nhat said.

The pumping station is having difficulty operating because the water source is far from the pumping station. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Not only Mrs. Le Thi Nhat's field, but also many other households in Trung Son commune have not yet returned to their fields. According to the commune People's Committee, as of the morning of January 30, the whole commune has 150 hectares of water shortage for spring crop production.

The reason for the lack of water for production is that the commune's main pumping station No. 1 is operating at only 1/4 of its capacity. The reason for operating at only 1/4 of its capacity is due to the lack of water from the Lam River flowing to the pumping station.

Hundreds of people were mobilized to dredge mud and soil to create a water flow to the pumping station. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

10 years ago, the pumping station near Lam River was still operating well with a capacity of 480m³/hour. However, due to the Lam River changing its flow, the 4 water intake nozzles of the pumping station are now 150m from the shore. Every time the production season comes, the commune has to mobilize hundreds of people and sludge suction machines to create a flow to bring water to the pumping station.

This spring crop 2023, to have water for production, the commune mobilized over 200 workers for 2 consecutive days to dredge the water canal, but it was very difficult to have enough water to pump 1 pump, the remaining 3 pumps were not working.

Dredging and pumping are both needed to bring water to the pumping station. Photo: Do ​​Luong

Mr. Doan Van Kien - Vice Chairman of Trung Son Commune People's Committee (Do Luong) said: Faced with this situation, we really hope that the superiors will allow us to carry out the renovation project so that the pumping station can operate well. Because every harvest season, we have to mobilize people to dredge and create a water flow, which is very difficult.

First water, second portion, third diligence, fourth seed, lack of water for production is the issue that farmers in Trung Son commune are most concerned about at present. Therefore, the renovation and upgrading of the water pumping system for rice fields in the commune is expected to be implemented soon by local leaders and people.

* Similarly, atThanh Chuong district, due to erratic weather conditions, little rainfall, water on Lam River is depleted, many pumps cannot operate. Thanh Chuong Irrigation Company Limited has directed pumping stations to be on duty 24/24h and by practical measures such as dredging suction tanks to supply water to meet enough water for people's production.

The pumping station in Dong Van commune does not have enough water to pump. Photo: Huu Thinh

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Loi - Head of Thanh Hung Commune Pumping Station, Thanh Chuong District said: Currently, the Lam River water level is low, out of 5 pumps, only 1 pump can operate, so we have to be on duty 24/7 so that when there is water, we can pump it immediately for people to produce.

In fact, currently, almost all pumping stations on Lam River do not have water to pump for spring crop production such as Rang pumping station, Dong Van pumping station, Ru Nguoc pumping station, etc. The communes with the largest areas waiting for water are Cat Van, Phong Thinh, Dai Dong, Thanh Dong, Dong Van, Thanh Ngoc, etc. Currently, these localities are waiting for the sky to wait for water or for hydroelectric plants to release water for spring crop production.

Thanh Ha commune mobilized people to dig the ground and dredge the stream to get water for production. Photo: Contributor

Mr. Dang Huu Bien - Chairman of Thanh Ha Commune People's Committee said: Lam River is shallow and there is not enough water to irrigate 45 hectares of rice, the machine cannot go down so people have to dig and pick up each stone to have depth, creating a flow into the suction pipe. But getting water is also facing many difficulties...

According to the project, in the 2023 spring crop, Thanh Chuong district strives to plant 14,800 hectares of short-term crops, with food output reaching 73,200 tons, including 8,600 hectares of rice. Mr. Le Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee said: The biggest difficulty in the current spring crop production is that the water level of Lam River is depleted, so pumping stations on Lam River cannot pump water for agricultural production. To help people speed up production progress as well as ensure area and output, Thanh Chuong District People's Committee requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct hydropower companies in the province to release water so that people have water for production./.