People on the banks of Hieu River are worried about flood discharge.

Unusually large floods

Chau Thang spillway has quite a high traffic density. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Chau Thang Hydropower Plant. Photo: Thanh Cuong

But in the past 2 years, when Chau Thang Hydropower Plant came into operation, the traffic here has changed a lot. From July to November 2017 - 2018, storms and floods combined with the hydropower plant's flood discharge caused the spillway to be flooded many times.

The water rises and flows strongly, exceeding the spillway by 1.2m - 1.5m. There are about 5 - 6 times of severe flooding each year, each lasting 2 - 3 days.

Flood water over Chau Thang spillway. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Mr. Luong Van Luan (51 years old), in Chieng Ban 1 village, said: Before the hydroelectric plant released floodwaters, the water level only reached the knees and receded within less than a day. Now, if people in the 6 villages on the South bank have to go to the district and unfortunately return late, they have to ask to stay with acquaintances in the 2 villages on the North bank for a few days.

On the night of August 3rd, the factory released floodwaters, and I had to sleep outside for a day... On the contrary, on this side, if someone gets sick and gets caught in the flood, they have to endure the pain, hold on, and wait for the water to recede before going to the medical station for examination and treatment.

Protecting and helping people cross the spillway when flood water rises. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Chairman of Chau Thang Commune People's Committee, described the overflow water level during the flood discharge on August 3. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The people of the commune have suggested upgrading the spillway bridge to a higher level or building a suspension bridge connecting National Highway 48 with 6 villages on the southern bank. Upgrading the old bridge and building a new bridge requires a huge amount of funding. Chau Thang commune has compiled these opinions and submitted them to the People's Committee of Quy Chau district for consideration...

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Chairman of Chau Thang Commune People's Committee

River bank erosion

Cracks at the foot of Chau Thang spillway bridge. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Chau Thang Hydropower Plant releases floodwaters. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Mr. Tran Huy Lac - Head of Minh Tien village - who has been attached to Chau Tien land for over 40 years, has witnessed many historical floods, said: Even in the historical floods in 1988 and 2007, the water of Hieu river rose to its highest level and flooded the road, but the area along the river did not have any landslides. In the past 2 years when the hydroelectric plant was in operation, more than 20 houses living next to the river, some houses were "swallowed" 10m by the river, some families lost up to 15m of land. Many gardens and livestock barns were swept away into the river.

Hydroelectric power plant releases floodwaters causing landslides in riverbank areas. Photo: Thanh Cuong

According to statistics from Chau Tien commune, over the past 3 years, the river has eroded and washed away more than 30 hectares of productive land and dozens of hectares of residential land. Many other areas of cultivated land have had to abandon rice cultivation and replace it with other crops.

Due to flood discharge activities, many agricultural areas have been abandoned. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The water rose upstream, flooding the bridge into Hoa Tien village by 3-4m. Every time the factory released floodwaters, the local government had to work hard to arrange forces such as militia and police to be on duty on both sides of the bridge to prevent people from crossing. Currently, there are 172 households in the commune living on the banks of the Hieu River.

Mr. Sam Thanh Hoai - Vice Chairman of Chau Tien Commune People's Committee said.

Chau Thang Hydropower Plant has a designed capacity of 14MW, built in Quy Chau and Que Phong districts, of which the factory area is located in Quy Chau district. The plant has a reservoir with a length of more than 10km, an average width of 200m, and a reservoir capacity of 18 million m3. Chau Thang Hydropower Plant started storing water in February 2017; generating electricity in May 2017... On average, each year, the plant pays taxes to the State about 6.5 billion VND.

People still have to wait

Every time a low pressure system comes, hydroelectric power plants release floodwaters, making people live in insecurity. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition, the company also participates in a number of other accompanying social programs and activities. A current reality among the people in the affected areas is that they “blame” the hydropower plant for causing disasters, and “blame” the authorities who, when approving the project, did not take into account all the consequences that hydropower could cause.

The banks of the Hieu River have eroded in many sections. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the phenomenon of cracks at Chau Thang spillway, the company will survey and consider specifically. When there is a policy to invest in upgrading the spillway or building a new suspension bridge across Hieu River, connecting the North and South banks of Chau Thang commune, if Quy Chau district has a written request, the company will report to the Board of Directors of the Corporation to have support for the construction of the new bridge.

Road closure across Hoa Tien spillway bridge, Chau Tien commune when hydroelectric plant releases flood. Photo: Archive

Currently, the district has submitted a request to build a dike to the province and the central government. As for upgrading and building a new bridge, it is clear that building a suspension bridge is inappropriate and inappropriate. Suspension bridges quickly deteriorate and break down, requiring large maintenance and repair costs. Meanwhile, building a new spillway bridge would require a huge amount of money, estimated by the district at over 60 billion VND.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoai - Vice Chairman of Quy Chau District People's Committee

Quy Chau plans to include the construction of a new bridge in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2020 - 2025 and wait for further instructions from the province. So, everyone, especially the people, are still waiting!