Ensuring safety of lakes, dams and irrigation works during the rainy and stormy season

The 2025 storm season is forecast to continue to be complex and unpredictable. In this situation, localities in the province have been proactively implementing many synchronous solutions, ready to respond to unusual situations that may occur, in which special attention is paid to ensuring the safety of lakes, dams, and irrigation works - important "shields" to help reduce damage from natural disasters.

Reality in recent years shows that natural disasters are increasingly fierce and difficult to predict. The widespread hailstorms in November 2006, the historic unseasonal rains in early November 2008, a series of storms with heavy rains in 2012 and 2013, storm No. 3 in 2016, storm Yagi in 2024 or most recently storm No. 10 Bualoi... all left heavy damage to both people and property. People's lives and production were seriously affected, many infrastructure works were damaged, and crop areas were lost.

According to the forecast of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, from now until the end of 2025, the East Sea will see about 4-5 storms with complex and unpredictable paths. This raises the urgent need for proactive disaster prevention, especially ensuring the safety of reservoirs and irrigation dams.

In Xuan Hoa ward, Dai Lai lake is considered a key irrigation project, playing an essential role in the socio -economic development of the locality and surrounding areas. The lake not only provides irrigation water for agricultural production, domestic water supply, industrial services but also combines aquaculture, tourism development and many other economic projects. Dai Lai lake and the Thanh Cao and Dong Cau inter-lake system were built in the late 1950s and were comprehensively renovated and upgraded in 2009. However, over the past 10 years, lake regulation has no longer followed the old rules, many years have had to discharge floods many times, posing many potential safety risks.

Entering the rainy and stormy season, authorities regularly inspect and propagate to ship and boat owners operating on Dai Lai Lake to comply with regulations to ensure the safety of people and property.

Realizing that, Xuan Hoa ward has built a plan for natural disaster prevention, control and search and rescue for Dai Lai lake in 2025, established a Command Committee for natural disaster prevention and control and search and rescue with specific tasks assigned to each member. The locality regularly organizes training on lake operation procedures; prepares materials, equipment and human resources according to the "4 on-site" motto; organizes test alarms and drills for many hypothetical situations such as damaged structures, overflow incidents or floods exceeding the design frequency. Other lakes in the area such as Lap Dinh and many small lakes and dams have also been directed by the ward People's Committee to develop response plans and submit them to competent authorities for approval.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - a resident of Xuan Hoa ward shared: "We live downstream of the lake so we are very worried when the rainy and stormy season comes, especially when we hear that the lake has to release floodwaters. Seeing that the authorities and management units regularly conduct drills, promptly notify and prepare adequate means, people feel more secure. What we most expect is that when there are rainy and stormy days, the authorities will inform quickly and clearly so that people can proactively respond."

In addition to the initiative of local authorities, irrigation management units have also actively participated. Phuc Yen Irrigation Company Limited is currently managing and operating 8 reservoirs, 1 dam, 4 irrigation pumping stations, 3 drainage pumping stations, 13 canal head sluice works and nearly 90km of irrigation canals. Before this year's rainy and stormy season, the company established a Flood and Storm Prevention and Control Command Committee, assigned specific tasks to each member; inspected and maintained equipment, electrical systems and tested pump units; dredged canals and cleared the flow. Materials, fuel and replacement equipment are always prepared; on-duty forces are maintained 24/24 hours at key locations; and regularly updated hydrometeorological information to promptly come up with response plans.

During times of high water levels, the Dai Lai Lake spillway is restricted by authorities to ensure safety.

However, to make disaster prevention more effective, Phuc Yen Irrigation Company Limited has recommended that all levels and sectors pay attention to investing in equipping the Dai Lai Lake with a flood discharge notification system; speeding up the progress of the project to renovate and upgrade the underground spillway and Tan An dam; promptly repairing and maintaining the opening and closing machines and sluice gates across the dike. Another urgent requirement is to thoroughly handle violations within the protection area of ​​irrigation works, clearing crops encroaching on the Ca Lo Riverbed and the dike roof to ensure the ability to quickly drain water when heavy rains and floods occur, avoiding localized flooding.

Thanks to the early initiative, the synchronous coordination between the authorities at all levels, functional branches and local forces, despite having experienced 10 storms since the beginning of the year, the system of lakes, dams, and irrigation works in Xuan Hoa ward and many localities in the province still ensures safety, promotes the role of regulation, serves agricultural production, industry, daily life and stabilizes people's lives. This is an important result, showing the spirit of readiness and determination not to be passive and surprised by natural disasters.

However, in the context of increasingly severe climate change, natural disaster prevention and control cannot be just a seasonal task during the rainy and stormy season, but must become a regular and continuous task, closely linked to the responsibility of each level, sector and community. Each citizen needs to raise awareness, strictly comply with regulations on protecting irrigation works, and participate with the government in preparation and response work. From there, each rainy and stormy season will have its damage minimized, and safety and peace will be maintained for the people.

Le Minh

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dam-bao-an-toan-ho-dap-cong-trinh-thuy-loi-mua-mua-bao-240541.htm