Dam safety assurance

Operation of Yen My reservoir spillway.

Song Chu Company Limited is currently managing 3 reservoirs (Song Muc reservoir, Yen My reservoir, Dong Chua reservoir); 4 pumping stations (Xom Moi, Do Bon 1, Quan Boi 1, Quan Boi 2); 2 drainage culverts (Ngoc Giap, Quang Chau) and Ben Ngu port. From the beginning of the year, the company has proactively developed a plan to respond to reservoir emergencies and submitted it to competent authorities for approval and implementation. At the same time, repair, maintain and test-operate spillway gates, drainage pumping stations and drainage culverts of the reservoirs. At the same time, organize the review and replacement of damaged and substandard materials according to the "4 on-site" motto to promptly handle and rescue the project when an incident occurs. Mobilize resources to implement dredging of sediment at the entrance to the upstream channel of Song Muc reservoir's flood spillway to ensure project safety.

According to the company representative, to ensure the safety of the dam project during the rainy season, the company regularly monitors weather developments. When heavy rain is forecast, it will mobilize staff to be on duty 24/7. At the same time, it will coordinate with the electricity agency to be ready to turn on the power, proactively drain water, discharge floods and take measures to handle incidents when they occur.

The province currently has 610 reservoirs, of which 1 is managed by the Irrigation Construction and Investment Management Board 3 ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ); 86 are managed by irrigation works exploitation companies and 523 are managed by communes and wards. To ensure the safety of dams and reservoirs during the rainy and stormy season, units have invested in installing construction monitoring equipment for 27 reservoirs; installed specialized hydrometeorological monitoring equipment for 102 reservoirs; maintained, repaired, upgraded and modernized 386 reservoirs; installed operational monitoring systems, information equipment and safety warnings for dams and downstream areas of 4 reservoirs (including Cua Dat, Song Muc, Yen My and Dong Chua); set up boundary markers for dams and reservoirs for 35 reservoirs; established and implemented protection plans for 152 reservoirs; established and implemented disaster response plans and emergency situations for 610 reservoirs; building a database system for dams and reservoirs for 216 reservoirs... However, the whole province still has 57/610 reservoirs that are currently seriously damaged, with potential risks of being unsafe. The Irrigation Department is actively coordinating with localities and management units to reinforce and repair damage, minimizing the occurrence of unsafe incidents for the works. At the same time, mobilizing human resources, gathering materials, machinery and equipment according to the "4 on-site" motto according to the approved emergency response plan to be ready to respond when incidents occur to the reservoirs.

According to Nguyen Van Chinh, Head of Thanh Hoa Irrigation Sub-Department, in order not to affect the implementation and ensure the safety of dams and reservoirs during the rainy and flood season in 2025 when the district-level government ends its operations, the sub-department has instructed localities to transfer State management tasks to commune-level administrative units according to the 2-level local government organization model. In addition, it directs units managing and exploiting irrigation works to continue to strictly implement legal regulations on the management of dam and reservoir safety. Assess the safety of works, flood resistance, and flood discharge capacity of reservoirs with regulating gates to have solutions to ensure the safety of works and downstream areas during the rainy and flood season.

For 57 reservoirs assessed as unsafe during the 2025 rainy and flood season, management units will update emergency response plans and natural disaster response plans in line with the actual situation. In case of detecting serious damage, high risk of unsafety, if not handled, it will immediately affect the safety of people's lives and property, units will mobilize all resources to repair, reinforce, and overcome to ensure the safety of the works. If it exceeds the unit's capacity, synthesize the list of works, priority order of investment, repair and funding needed for support, promptly report to the Department of Agriculture and Environment for synthesis, report to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and handling.

Article and photos: Hai Dang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/bao-dam-an-toan-ho-dap-255625.htm