Ensuring water safety

According to the National Center for Meteorology and Hydrology, the weather is behaving very unusually, and this year's dry season is predicted to be more extreme and complex, leading to increased water shortages.

Officials from the Hoang Khai Lake Project Management Board inspect the water regulation valve system on the lake.

The dry season lasts from December to April of the following year, a time when water resources for daily life and production are severely limited, and this situation is increasingly worsening.

From December onwards, when the water level of the Lo River drops, hundreds of households living along the Lo River dike in Hong Son and Truong Sinh communes face hardship due to the depletion of water for both production and daily life. Ms. Do Thi Tho, from Kim Xuyen village, Hong Son commune, said: "Most families in Kim Xuyen, Khong, and some neighboring villages use groundwater pumped from dug wells. When the Lo River water level drops, the water in these wells also dries up, causing great concern."

In communes such as Quan Ba, Meo Vac, Xuan Thuy, and Tan Thanh, water shortages have also increased in recent years. According to Ms. Sung Thi Ly from Sa Lung village, Meo Vac commune, water is currently sufficient, but from January to February, it becomes very scarce. To get water, she has to carry it back in containers for tens of kilometers, which is very difficult.

The peak of the dry season coincides with the time when the agricultural sector plants the spring crop. In some localities, the annual planting progress is delayed due to water shortages. Just in the recent Spring 2025 season, hundreds of hectares of crops, including rice, corn, and many other crops, suffered from a lack of irrigation water, affecting their growth and development.

Comrade Pham Dinh Tu, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: To proactively respond and ensure the safety of water sources for production and daily life of the people, especially during the dry season, the Department has sent documents to communes and wards to closely monitor and manage water sources; implement the demarcation of areas at risk of water shortage for daily life; urge the acceleration of the completion of investment projects for construction, repair, upgrading, and expansion of centralized rural water supply works; and direct water supply units to develop response plans, provide recommendations, and inform people about water supply plans so that they can proactively store water to ensure daily life.

Regarding water for production, the Department requires the Irrigation Sub-Department and the Management Board of Irrigation Works to conduct a detailed inventory of water resources before each production season and to regularly update and conserve water from the beginning of the dry season based on a rational water distribution plan from the start of the production season, and to proactively adjust accordingly when water resources are insufficient.

Mr. Tran Van Bac, Deputy Director of the Rural Water Supply Center, said: "To date, the unit has repaired, upgraded, and expanded the scale of 10 domestic water supply projects in localities facing water scarcity. In addition, the unit has also coordinated with relevant agencies to utilize funds from targeted programs to develop household water supply projects and equipment for water storage."

Based on this, it is necessary to raise public awareness and responsibility in using water economically; and to proactively develop plans for water storage for daily use. Ensuring water safety is not only the responsibility of management agencies but also of the people themselves in using water economically and efficiently, protecting this valuable resource.

Text and photos: Doan Thu

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/kinh-te/202512/dam-bao-an-toan-nguon-nuoc-58452d0/