Inter-reservoir regulation before the storm season in Thanh Hoa ensures dam safety during the flood season

Stabilizing water resources for agricultural economic development

To ensure water sources for agricultural production, especially during hot weather, since May, units managing and exploiting irrigation works together with People's Committees of districts, towns and cities of Thanh Hoa province have proactively implemented measures to ensure irrigation water sources.

Accordingly, units such as Song Chu LLC, Bac Song Ma Irrigation LLC, Nam Song Ma LLC have been basing on hydrometeorological forecasts, checking, evaluating, and balancing the water capacity of each key project with the water needs of farmers to proactively develop and implement irrigation plans, prevent drought and saltwater intrusion. Regulate and distribute water reasonably and economically, avoid water loss or excessive water intake causing waste.

Dredging, increasing water storage capacity in reservoirs, ensuring irrigation work

At the same time, strengthen management and operation to reduce water loss on canals and irrigation levels for each unit area. Coordinate with authorities at all levels to lead irrigation water, especially during periods of water stress, to avoid disputes over water intake when drought occurs, causing difficulties for drought management. Dredge water intakes at pumping stations, prepare materials to extend suction pipes when water levels drop. The company has also regulated and directed irrigation branches to install field pumps, take advantage of all water sources for pumping and pumping to fight drought. Along with that, arrange 24/24 hour staff at pumping stations.

Implementing urgent measures to provide enough irrigation water for farmers to sow and care for crops, preventing drought in the fields, Song Chu Company has prioritized regulating water sources for the end of the canal in Quang Xuong district. Quang Xuong Irrigation Branch has maintained, repaired, dredged irrigation canals, culverts, dams, and maintained 36 pumping stations to improve the production capacity of irrigation works in the area. In recent months, Quang Xuong Irrigation Branch has dredged a number of canals of pumping stations, dredged the drainage system to store water to prevent drought at the beginning of the crop season and drain water quickly, preventing flooding during heavy rains with a total volume of nearly 3,100m3 of mud and soil dug up.

Launching a competition, mobilizing 100% of cadres, engineers, and workers to return to the base, including Saturdays and Sundays, to coordinate with local authorities to focus on the peak period of alternating water supply to the fields of some communes at the end of the canal, highlands... for farmers to produce crops. The branch has arranged workers to take shifts at Mai Chu port (Quang Yen commune) to regulate fresh water from the Hoang river to the Ly river (due to low water level of the Ly river) to create a water source for the pumping stations along the Ly river to operate.

It is necessary to regulate and distribute water reasonably and economically, to avoid water loss or excessive water intake causing waste.

Currently, irrigation pumping stations have been operating to pump water from the Hoang and Ly rivers to serve agricultural production. The Ngoc Giap, Quang Chau, Truong Le drainage systems have been operated and regulated by the branch to ensure both the storage of fresh water for irrigation of crops and the drainage of floods during heavy rains. The entire crop production area irrigated by the Song Chu Company - Quang Xuong Irrigation branch has basically had enough water for people to flood and plant.

Proactively respond to flood season

Up to now, dam safety assessment still has many shortcomings. Most dams and reservoirs were built a long time ago, manually or according to old standards, not suitable and meeting current regulations; construction management units mainly evaluate visually with the naked eye, and only dams with high risk of unsafety are included in the list of unsafe reservoirs.

However, in reality, some reservoirs operate normally, but when evaluated and compared with TCVN 11699:2016. Irrigation works - Dam safety assessment, the reservoir is classified as type 3 - dams with risk of unsafety, which will affect the monitoring, direction, and management of project operations.

From the beginning of 2023, Thanh Hoa province has focused on directing the organization of simultaneous dredging to clear the flow, remove blockages in drainage systems across the province from May 20, 2023 to June 20, 2023 with the volume of dredging, removing blockages, removing water hyacinth, rafts, and water spinach as follows: dredging of drainage canals is 507,045m³, of which inter-district and inter-commune canals is 115,393m³, intra-field canals is 391,652m³; removing water hyacinth, rafts, and water spinach is 1,411,970m², length is 613,442m.

According to the leader of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thanh Hoa: In order to effectively carry out inspection work and ensure the safety of irrigation works during the 2023 flood season, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has proactively deployed many measures.

Of which, for 101 severely damaged reservoirs with a risk of being unsafe, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thanh Hoa province has proactively reinforced and repaired the damage, minimizing the occurrence of unsafe incidents for the works and downstream areas; fully mobilizing human resources, materials, machinery and equipment according to the "4 on-site" motto in the natural disaster response plan, the approved emergency response plan to be ready to respond when an incident occurs; for 30 works that have been allocated investment capital but have not yet been implemented, urgently carry out investment preparation steps to soon deploy construction and repair, ensuring the safety of the works.

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