Water source solutions in the Mekong Delta – Part 3: Do not let the Western region lack water

Youth discussed with Mr. Nguyen Hong Khanh, deputy director of the Irrigation Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), about this urgent issue. Mr. Khanh said:

– In recent times, saltwater intrusion forecasting has been performed quite well by specialized meteorological and hydrological forecasting units and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

From there, the arrangement of area and seasonal structure (planting time) in accordance with the situation of saltwater intrusion and water sources is an effective solution to cope with saltwater intrusion. The work of collecting information from upstream to support the implementation of saltwater intrusion forecasting is also well done.

In addition, irrigation work such as dredging water intakes, canal systems, digging ponds and wells, building temporary dams to prevent salinity, installing field pumping stations, investing in the construction of salinity control works plays a very important role. important. And proactively storing water early, on-site by people right during the rainy season, and installing public taps. The above has helped minimize damage to the Mekong Delta.

Many challenges for water resources in the Mekong Delta

* What are the challenges in the coming time regarding water resources for production and daily life in the Mekong Delta, sir?

– The Mekong Delta is facing many challenges. Negative impacts due to the effects of climate change, sea level rise, development process in the upstream of the Mekong River, development activities within the Mekong Delta,… have been making the Irrigation works face many difficulties in providing water sources for agricultural production and daily life at present and are at risk of becoming less effective in the future.

By 2024, countries upstream of the Mekong River have been building about 128 lakes with an estimated storage capacity of around 88 billion m3 of water. In the future (according to the planning period 2040 – 2060), it is possible to build A total of 231 lakes, with a storage capacity of over 120 billion m3 of water.

The exploitation of hydroelectric reservoirs will continue to change the flow rules and water source regime in the Mekong Delta.

In addition, the internal development in the Mekong Delta is the unreasonable exploitation of underground water resources, increasing the level of land subsidence.

Measurement and research data show that most areas in the Mekong Delta experience subsidence from 0.5 – 3cm/year, coastal areas, especially the Ca Mau peninsula area (Ca Mau, Bac Ninh). Lieu), the common subsidence rate is 1.5 – 2cm/year.

Land subsidence is the cause of increased levels of flooding, tides and saltwater intrusion. On the other hand, the transformation of production models in recent times has changed the land use structure, water demand, and water quality in the irrigation system. And finally there is the impact of climate change – rising sea levels.

Many solutions are working effectively

* Have the projects implemented recently ensured water sources for production, daily life and to prevent saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta?

– I confirm that up to now, it can be said that with current conditions, in fact, the implemented solutions have been effective, helping to keep damage at a low level compared to the impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion.

As mentioned above, the entire rice area in the region is recommended to ensure no damage, fruit tree areas are not affected much.

The number of people lacking water for daily use is much lower than in 2016 and 2020. Localities have also proactively had plans and solutions to support people and ensure social security.

However, to effectively prevent drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, it is necessary to continue to research and implement more fundamental, long-term solutions.

In addition to non-structural solutions, management and executive direction, it is also necessary to research solutions to invest in water transfer projects between basins, build dams to prevent water from estuaries or invest in reservoirs. with appropriate scale in the region.

However, these solutions need to be researched and calculated carefully before deciding to invest with the motto “no regrets”, and also depends greatly on budget resources.

In the immediate future, in my opinion, local authorities and people continue to do a good job of proactively having on-site water storage facilities and facilities to serve production, especially water for domestic use during the dry season months of the year. In the years when drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion are forecast to be severe.

* In the long term, what needs to be done to avoid the situation of carrying tank after tank of water to supply to people as well as lack of water for production, sir?

– Many solutions have been and continue to be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

There are many solutions focusing on rural domestic water such as accelerating the implementation progress of medium-term public investment projects for the period 2021 – 2025 in seven provinces of the Mekong Delta to ensure on schedule to meet the deadline. At the same time, putting into operation and exploitation projects in Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh…

For areas with centralized water supply, we invest, build new or upgrade, repair, and expand existing projects. In scattered residential areas, organize support for clean water storage equipment with appropriate capacity to ensure enough water for daily use during periods affected by drought and saltwater intrusion.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is finalizing a draft decree regulating rural water supply to encourage investors to invest in clean water supply projects, especially in areas with difficult water resources. water like in the Mekong Delta.

The Ministry is also finalizing a draft of the credit policy for clean water supply and rural environmental sanitation for households, which stipulates preferential lending policies for households to invest in the construction of water supply and sanitation works. rural environment.