Ensuring the safety of reservoirs and dams during the rainy season and floods.

Son La province has a mountainous and hilly terrain, heavily fragmented landscape, a dense network of rivers and streams, and hundreds of large and small reservoirs and irrigation dams. As the 2026 rainy season approaches, proactively implementing urgent measures to ensure the safety of reservoirs and dams, and to protect the lives and property of the people, is a top priority for all levels of government and management agencies.

Employees of Son La Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation Company Limited inspect the water regulation system of Ban Mong reservoir. Photo: Nguyen Yen.

Looking back at 2025, natural disasters across the country, and particularly in the northern mountainous region, occurred frequently, severely, and with many unusual characteristics. A record 21 typhoons and tropical depressions appeared in the East Sea, and extreme heavy rainfall across a wide area caused water levels in many rivers and streams to exceed historical warning levels. In Son La province, 18 types of natural disasters occurred, including flash floods, landslides, and mudslides in many localities. In particular, the heavy rains caused by Typhoon No. 9 and the remnants of Typhoon No. 10 damaged approximately 1,000 hectares of crops; destroyed over 900 houses; and caused landslides at 9 locations, disrupting traffic.

Entering 2026, although the total number of storms is predicted to be lower than the multi-year average, the National Center for Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting still warns against complacency regarding dangerous weather phenomena and localized extreme rainfall and flooding of high intensity. For a mountainous province like Son La, the risk of flash floods, landslides around reservoirs and downstream flows is ever-present.

Currently, the province has 111 reservoirs, 132 diversion dams, and 2,405 irrigation works. Of these, 86 are large reservoirs with dam heights exceeding 5 meters or total capacities of 50,000 m³ or more. The Son La Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation Company Limited – the unit responsible for managing irrigation works in the province – has coordinated with relevant agencies, units, and local authorities where dams and reservoirs are located to implement plans for protecting these structures.

The Chiềng Khoi reservoir irrigation project in Yên Châu commune has a reservoir capacity of over 3.1 million m³; its function is to provide irrigation water for 240 hectares of double-cropped rice and 40 hectares of paddy fields. Phan Huy Bình, Head of the Yên Châu branch of Sơn La Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation Company Limited, informed: Before the rainy season, the branch inspected and reviewed all the system components and structures at the Chiềng Khoi reservoir; carried out maintenance and repair of all machinery, opening and closing mechanisms, sluices, and spillways to ensure safe operation. The unit is monitoring the weather situation, rainfall, and flood levels in the reservoir in the coming period to develop plans for regulating spillway discharge and flood control, ensuring absolute safety.

Son La Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation Company Limited in Yen Chau inspects the operation of the Chieng Khoi reservoir's spillway valve. Photo: Nguyen Yen.

In May, the Department of Agriculture and Environment developed a plan to inspect the safety of irrigation works with the aim of checking the current state and management of irrigation works; assessing the water situation and water supply capacity of the works; reviewing the list of damaged and degraded dams, reservoirs, and irrigation works that need repair and upgrading. At the same time, it developed detailed and specific flood and storm prevention plans for each reservoir.

Mr. Vu Tien Dinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, reported: Through inspection and assessment of 112 reservoirs, 3 reservoirs were assessed as safe (level A); 109 reservoirs were assessed as safe (level B); no reservoirs were at high risk of failure; and only 1 reservoir was damaged and required limited water storage. The Department has issued a document requesting localities to coordinate with Son La Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation Company Limited to continue mobilizing people to clear vegetation and unblock waterways; dismantle and remove obstacles on and in front of the spillways of reservoirs and canal banks that pose a risk of obstructing water flow and hindering drainage. At the same time, they are to deploy personnel with sufficient professional capacity to operate the reservoirs; regularly inspect the safety of the structures, and detect and handle any incidents immediately.

Given the complex weather patterns and preparations for the 2026 rainy season and floods, the Provincial People's Committee has issued Official Document No. 2742/UBND-THKT directing all levels and sectors to urgently implement measures to ensure the safety of irrigation systems and reservoirs to protect the lives and property of the people. Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee requires units and investors to accelerate construction progress and ensure the flood control quality of ongoing projects. It is crucial to prevent the continuation of construction on major project components once the rainy season and floods have begun, in order to avoid the risk of landslides or flash floods.

For the People's Committees of communes and wards, the Provincial People's Committee assigns responsibility to localities to update and implement disaster response plans according to the "four on-the-spot" principle; review and accurately identify dangerous areas around the reservoir and downstream to proactively organize the relocation and evacuation of residents when adverse situations occur.

Alongside technical measures, the dissemination and education of laws on irrigation are being intensified to raise community awareness. People in the reservoir area are advised not to arbitrarily violate the protection corridor of irrigation works, to enhance their awareness of proactively preventing and mitigating natural disasters, and to cooperate closely with the authorities to safely overcome the 2026 rainy season.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/xa-hoi/bao-dam-an-toan-ho-dap-mua-mua-lu-goSml8JvR.html