Ensuring safety of reservoirs and irrigation works

Vinh Phuoc saltwater dam project is damaged, seriously degraded, and needs to be repaired - Photo: TRAN TUYEN

“ Bottlenecks” in management

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Ho Xuan Hoe said that the province currently has 123 irrigation reservoirs and 2 weirs, managed under Decree No. 114/2018/ND-CP; of which, there are 13 large reservoirs, 1 large dam, 22 medium reservoirs, 88 small reservoirs and 1 small dam. In addition, Quang Tri also owns about 481 other irrigation works (excluding dams and reservoirs), including: 221 weirs, 243 pumping stations, 17 saltwater prevention sluices and 2,125 km of canals. The decentralization of management is implemented under Decision No. 3147/QD-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee.

Accordingly, large and medium reservoirs and complex projects are assigned to the Irrigation Works Management and Operation Company Limited. This unit currently manages 18 dams and reservoirs and has a team of well-trained and qualified staff and workers. However, the biggest “bottleneck” lies in the large number of small dams and reservoirs (20 medium and 87 small) and other inland irrigation projects, which are assigned to local grassroots irrigation organizations for management.

Meanwhile, most of these organizations do not ensure the minimum capacity as prescribed. The staff often lacks expertise, or has not received advanced training. These shortcomings cause difficulties in management and operation, even affecting the repair and dredging of intra-field canals, thereby affecting water regulation for production.

Another legal issue of concern concerns Bau Nhum reservoir, a project whose management scope involves both Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. According to Circular No. 03/2022/TT-BNNPTNT, Bau Nhum reservoir is assigned to the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee for management. However, the 2017 Law on Water Resources and Decree No. 114/2018/ND-CP stipulate that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is responsible for managing irrigation projects of special importance or those involving two or more provinces. "This inconsistency causes difficulties in establishing an advisory council to assess dam safety and decide on water storage plans, requiring the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to provide specific guidance," said Mr. Hoe.

Mr. Hoe also said that the unit has comprehensively inspected and assessed the safety of dams and reservoirs during the 2025 flood season on 125/125 projects. The results showed that 88 projects were assessed as safe (level A), 3 projects were basically safe (level B). However, an alarming number is that up to 34 reservoir projects were assessed as having a high risk of unsafety (level C), showing a significant level of damage and degradation.

Specifically, 37 dams were leaking, of which 5 were heavily leaking and 22 were slightly leaking. In addition, 35 dams had deformed slopes (landslides, slides upstream and downstream) and 7 small dams in Vinh Linh district had cracks across the dam body. Phu Dung Dam is one of the severely damaged dams that need special attention during the flood season. Regarding flood spillways, 1 Ban Chua 2 spillway has not been reinforced, 37 spillways have slight cracks, and 5 spillways are severely damaged. Regarding water intake culverts, 41 culverts were slightly damaged, with water seepage appearing through the culvert joints.

Regarding other irrigation works (except dams and reservoirs), after inspecting 481 works, 51 works were found to be damaged or degraded. Currently, 2 works are being repaired and upgraded.

Need to prioritize funding for repairs

Faced with many difficulties and problems, especially funding and management capacity at the grassroots level, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Tri has pointed out the shortcomings and made urgent recommendations. According to Mr. Ho Xuan Hoe, the lack of funding is the biggest obstacle that makes it difficult for project owners to fully implement the safety contents of dams and reservoirs according to Decree 114/2018/ND-CP.

In addition, licensing of activities within the protection area of irrigation works is currently only decentralized to the provincial People's Committee, affecting the time to handle administrative procedures. Detailed instructions on emergency situations and lake water levels corresponding to alarm levels are still lacking, causing difficulties in the preparation, appraisal and approval of emergency response plans.

In particular, for projects managed by local authorities, most of them were built a long time ago and the archived records are almost gone. The annual budget allocation is too limited, making it impossible for localities to carry out important tasks such as establishing operating procedures, setting boundary markers, and inspecting the safety of water reservoirs.

The management force at grassroots irrigation organizations is still lacking and weak in expertise, along with the lack of proper attention to state management of dam and reservoir safety, leading to many shortcomings in the management and exploitation of works.

To ensure the safety of the works before the flood season in 2025 and the following years, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Tri province has sent a document requesting the Department of Management and Construction of Irrigation Works to propose to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to annually support funding to fully implement the safety contents of dams and reservoirs according to the provisions of Decree 114/2018/ND-CP of the Government; support funding to repair and upgrade 51 reservoirs in the province.

In the immediate future, priority will be given to urgently supporting the allocation of funds (estimated at about 34.5 billion VND) to invest in repairing and overcoming severely damaged items such as: rubber pontoons for flood discharge of Nam Thach Han irrigation project; spillways for flood discharge of Truc Kinh and Ai Tu reservoirs; Chau Thi saltwater prevention spillway; Phu Dung dam; and the dam surface of Ai Tu reservoir to ensure safety for the project before the 2025 flood season.

Ensuring the safety of reservoirs and irrigation works is not only an urgent task before the flood season but also a long-term responsibility, requiring synchronous and sustainable investment. Only with close coordination between the central and local levels, timely resolving issues of funding, management capacity and perfecting the legal framework, can Quang Tri province be more steadfast in natural disaster prevention, minimizing damage, protecting the safety of people's lives and production, moving towards a sustainable development future.

Trung Linh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/dam-bao-an-toan-ho-chua-va-cong-trinh-thuy-loi-194249.htm