The banks of the Bac Hung Hai canal section passing through Binh Giang are in the rainy season.

Binh Giang District has the highest number of vulnerable points along the Bac Hung Hai canal in Hai Duong province.

Unsafe

The Bac Hung Hai irrigation system flows through seven districts and cities in Hai Duong province, but Binh Giang district is distinctly different. While the other six localities are more or less surrounded by rivers, Binh Giang's agricultural water supply depends entirely on this large-scale irrigation project, once a symbol and source of pride for the entire North. The Kim Son canal is the backbone of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system. From this canal, water spreads out, sowing seeds of life and covering most communes and towns in Binh Giang district with greenery. However, alongside its benefits, the Bac Hung Hai system also harbors lurking dangers, especially during the rainy season. The banks of the Kim Son canal are struggling to withstand landslides, and the risk of the canal collapsing is ever-present.

On March 4th, a section of the right bank of the Kim Son canal in Vinh Hung commune suffered a serious landslide. The landslide spanned approximately 80 meters, eroding the entire canal bank and encroaching more than 1 meter into the canal itself. Currently, the canal's surface is less than 2 meters wide, with the bank rising vertically and showing signs of further erosion. The area inside the canal is home to gardens and houses. If the bank collapses, the consequences will be unimaginable. A resident living near the landslide site expressed concern: “I observe the landslide every day, seeing the soil on the bank being washed away by the water, and it makes me uneasy. It's the rainy season, and even a heavy downpour or prolonged drizzle could easily cause the canal bank to break. If the water overflows, I don't know what will happen.”

It is understood that when the incident occurred, the management unit coordinated with the local authorities to find ways to handle and remedy the situation. However, the concern about the canal embankment collapsing still exists because they have to wait for the necessary steps and procedures to be implemented.

The dangerous landslide section is located on the right bank of the Kim Son canal in Vinh Hung commune.

Not only the Kim Son canal but also the banks of the Tay Ke Sat canal pose a danger during the rainy season. Many sections of the canal surface are thin and have deep cracks, so the risk of accidents is always present. On May 12, 2023, a 21-meter section of the canal passing through Thuc Khang commune suffered a deep landslide, with the canal surface sinking up to 0.3 meters. Recognizing this as a serious threat requiring immediate remediation, the Bac Hung Hai Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited coordinated with the local authorities to agree on an initial remediation plan. However, due to the heavy rains in June, this section of the canal continued to subside by another 25 meters, with the surface sinking to a depth of 0.7 meters. The Thuc Khang Commune People's Committee immediately implemented temporary embankment measures, but these proved ineffective.

During a site visit to the canal bank, Mr. Bui Quang Son, Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, anxiously stated: "The local authorities have reinforced and repaired this section of the canal four times, but after only a short time, the erosion continues, each time more serious than the last. A school and a health station are located near the canal bank. The rice fields are also entering the planting season. Meanwhile, the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable, so incidents like this need to be prioritized for hardening. The current treatment is only a temporary solution; if not handled carefully, it could have the opposite effect and put more pressure on the canal bank."

The Bac Hung Hai irrigation system, passing through Binh Giang district, has three main canals: Kim Son, Tay Ke Sat, and Dinh Dao. These canals not only supply water for production and contribute to the local natural ecosystem, but during the rainy season, they also collect water to prevent flooding.

Despite its significant role and importance, a breach in the Bắc Hưng Hải canal would pose a threat equivalent to, or even more dangerous than, a breach in an outer river dike.

Important things go hand in hand with critical things.

The landslide section in Thuc Khang commune has been repaired and reinforced four times, but further incidents could still occur.

Compared to other localities in the province, the Bac Hung Hai canal system plays the most important role in Binh Giang district, but the risk of insecurity there is also the greatest. According to the Hai Duong Provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, Binh Giang district has 27 vulnerable points along the Bac Hung Hai canal bank, the highest number in the province. This doesn't even include cracks and landslides where even a small impact could escalate into a major incident. These incidents could easily turn into disasters, sometimes catastrophic ones. The damage caused by a breach in the Bac Hung Hai canal bank would be immeasurable.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nha, Head of the Sat River Irrigation Works Management Station ( thuộc Bac Hung Hai Irrigation Works Exploitation One-Member Limited Company), has been involved with the canal systems in Binh Giang district for nearly 20 years. Therefore, he has a thorough understanding of each location and section of the canal system where incidents are likely to occur and threaten the safety of the structures. Mr. Nha said: “Recognizing the importance of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system to the locality, despite limited personnel, the management team has never neglected monitoring, supervision, and close coordination with the local authorities. As a result, incidents related to the canal banks are detected from the very beginning. However, the handling process still does not meet the actual requirements due to limited funding and numerous procedures and processes.”

The Bac Hung Hai irrigation system was formed by both man-made and natural processes. Faced with the urgent need to improve irrigation capacity to ensure abundant water for agricultural production and timely flood control in Northern Vietnam during the 1950s, the people and government worked together to dig and construct the Bac Hung Hai canal, connecting scattered inland rivers and flowing through four provinces and cities.

To date, the historical and economic values ​​of this massive project remain intact, but the protection and preservation of each canal within the system have been somewhat neglected. As a result, the Bac Hung Hai system has experienced numerous canal bank failures.

In Hai Duong province, the canal banks in Binh Giang district are the most concerning. Here, the banks are long but thin, while the canal bed is wide and deep, making it highly susceptible to landslides. Besides this objective cause, there is also a subjective reason: many households living near the canal banks violate the protected corridor for personal and family gain. Previously, some cases involved illegal sand mining in the canal bed; although this no longer occurs, the consequences remain.

The Binh Giang area also faced the problem of fish ponds damaging canal banks. Geological changes resulting from the digging of fish ponds directly impacted the canal bank structure, gradually causing the banks to deteriorate and reducing their ability to withstand heavy rains and large volumes of water flowing from upstream.

Many newly eroded areas have been temporarily reinforced by driving in bamboo stakes.

According to authorities, the damage from a potential embankment breach in the Bac Hung Hai canal would be enormous, and remediation would be extremely difficult because a large portion of the canal runs through densely populated residential areas. The situation is even more complex in Binh Giang district due to the increased frequency and higher risk of incidents. The canal is wide and has a large water flow, yet many sections of the embankment are fragile, with some sections only a few handspans wide. Without proper and careful reinforcement measures, landslides will constantly threaten production, daily life, and even the lives of residents.

The role of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system through Binh Giang district is crucial, but attention to strengthening the canal banks must also be commensurate. In the short term, it is necessary to decisively address vulnerable points and prevent violations that damage the canal banks. In the long term, solutions must be devised to eliminate potential risks to the canal banks before each rainy season. Only then will the Bac Hung Hai canal banks in Binh Giang district no longer be a constant concern for the local people.

DUNG CUONG

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/bo-kenh-bac-hung-hai-doan-qua-binh-giang-den-mua-lo-387036.html