Lam River and Con River are dry, many pumping stations have difficulty operating.

Currently, some pumping stations located along the Con River in Tan Ky and Nghia Dan districts are operating at a limited capacity due to low river water levels. Specifically, Cay Khe pumping station (Nghia Hop commune, Tan Ky district) is responsible for irrigating more than 120 hectares of rice, but since the beginning of the season, the pumps have been operating unstable.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuc, a worker in charge of the Cay Khe pumping station (under Tan Ky Irrigation Company Limited), said: "Recently, the water level of the Con River has been low, causing many difficulties for the station's three pumps. Currently, only one of the three pumps can operate. If this situation continues, some rice fields will be affected in terms of growth."

Not only Cay Khe pumping station, the representative of Tan Ky Irrigation Company Limited said that currently, 3 out of 6 pumping stations managed by the company are suspended. Specifically: Vuc Dao pumping station (Nghia Dong commune) has all 3 pumps suspended, Nghia Hop pumping station has 2 pumps suspended, Tan Khanh pumping station (Nghia Khanh commune, Nghia Dan district) has 2 pumps suspended.

Faced with this situation, the unit is urgently looking for a solution. For the Vuc Dao pumping station (Nghia Dong commune), the company has implemented a plan to take water from Khe Da reservoir to supplement irrigation for about 250 hectares of rice. In addition, the Tan Khanh pumping station (Nghia Khanh commune, Nghia Dan district) has been installed with additional horizontal pumps and pipelines to ensure irrigation for more than 150 hectares of spring rice.

A representative of Tan Ky Irrigation Company Limited added: "Our unit is currently irrigating more than 3,500 hectares of spring rice. If the water source of the Con River is not improved in the coming time, at least 150 hectares of rice will be at risk of water shortage."

Not only in Tan Ky and Nghia Dan, the water shortage has also affected a number of pumping stations in Thanh Chuong district. Although Thanh Chuong Irrigation Company has proactively upgraded and added taps to a number of pumping stations, the water level of Lam River this year has decreased by 10-15 cm compared to previous years, causing many pumping stations to be unable to operate normally.

Faced with this situation, the company has urgently implemented measures such as: Adding more water suction pipes at Ru Nguoc pumping station (Thanh Ngoc commune); Upgrading other pumping stations to adapt to lower than normal water levels.

According to statistics, Nghe An province currently has more than 500 pumping stations, many of which take water directly from major rivers such as Lam River, Hieu River and Con River. However, this year the water flow on these rivers is lower than the average level of last year, leading to difficulties in pumping irrigation. The agricultural sector is directing localities and irrigation units to continue monitoring the changes in river water levels and at the same time deploying plans to supplement water sources in time for spring rice.