Adjust and supplement the operating procedures of irrigation reservoirs to suit extreme rain and floods.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requires units managing and exploiting especially important irrigation reservoirs and inter-provincial irrigation reservoirs to assess the rain and flood situation as a basis for adjusting and supplementing operating procedures suitable to climate change and extreme rain and flood conditions.

On December 9, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MARD) signed a document on reviewing the operating procedures of especially important inter-provincial irrigation reservoirs.

The document stated that, in order to proactively and effectively respond to natural disasters in the coming time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requires units managing and exploiting especially important irrigation reservoirs and inter-provincial irrigation reservoirs to immediately organize a comprehensive review and assessment of the operation of irrigation reservoirs according to the operating procedures and implementation work in the past time, ensuring the safety of works, downstream areas and serving multi-purpose water supply.

At the same time, assess the rain and flood situation as a basis for adjusting and supplementing the operating procedures in accordance with climate change conditions, extreme rain and floods, infrastructure and downstream safety requirements, and complete the review and prepare documents to adjust the operating procedures before April 2026.

Reservoirs and irrigation reservoirs of particular importance need to flexibly adjust pre-flood water level regulations to maximize flood storage capacity.

Note to prioritize the useful capacity of the reservoir to cut floods for downstream, in which the pre-flood water level is flexibly regulated to maximize flood prevention capacity; use a part of the flood prevention capacity above the normal rising water level of the reservoir to improve the ability to cut and reduce floods for downstream.

Reservoir management and exploitation units must specify the minimum notice time before flood discharge; methods of communication and warning to agencies, units and people in the affected area (flood discharge time, flood discharge volume, scope and level of flooding, etc.), communication and warning solutions when there is no phone signal or power outage; updating data, sharing monitoring and operation data; coordination regulations with commune-level authorities and related units downstream to monitor, supervise and provide relevant information for management and operation.

Assign tasks and responsibilities clearly to each unit and individual to ensure safety for the project and downstream; coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Environment and relevant local agencies and units to collect flood data to update or develop new disaster response plans for the project, downstream flood maps, flood escape corridors and emergency response plans for reservoirs close to reality, ensuring the "four on-site" motto and suitable to the specific situation of operating local governments at 2 levels.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also requested to organize inspections and assessments of the current status of reservoirs after the 2025 flood season, develop repair plans and options to ensure the safety of the project during the 2026 flood season and the following years (check the electrical system, backup power source, and valve lifting equipment to ensure accurate and safe operation).

Source: https://cand.com.vn/doi-song/dieu-chinh-bo-sung-quy-trinh-van-hanh-ho-chua-thuy-loi-phu-hop-mua-lu-cuc-doan-i790551/