Bringing fresh water from Tien River to "rescue" people in the lower Long An region

Vice Chairman of the Long An Province Farmers' Association Ngo Thanh Tuyen (standing in the middle) proposed building a pipeline system to bring fresh water from the Tien River to the lower region of Long An province. Photo: T.D

According to Mr. Tuyen, like the Mekong Delta, Long An province is being heavily affected by climate change, especially saltwater intrusion in the dry season, leading to a lack of fresh water for production, especially for fruit trees, crops, and domestic water, especially in the lower districts of the province.

Currently, Long An does not have large lakes to store fresh water, nor does it have large enough projects to provide water for production; it has not yet connected construction solutions to store fresh water for agricultural development, especially in districts such as Tan Tru, Can Duoc, Can Giuoc, Ben Luc. Meanwhile, many agricultural models have not yet applied water-saving irrigation solutions...

Mr. Tuyen said that to help the lower districts have enough fresh water for production and daily life during the dry season, there must be engineering solutions to bring fresh water from the Tien River system to serve irrigation and daily life in the lower districts.

Because, in the dry season, saltwater intrusion occurs very deep inland in this area. At this time, water from the Vam Co river system is also salty. The drought and saltwater intrusion lasts about 4 months in this area, peaking from March to May of the year.

Mr. Tuyen suggested that the issue of bringing fresh water to the lower Long An region needs the attention of the Government , as well as ministries and branches because the cost is quite high. In addition, the implementation will be quite complicated, requiring careful survey and research.

According to Mr. Tuyen, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has previously conducted a survey on the supply of fresh water to the lower region of Long An province, but has not yet formed a specific project. Partly due to the large budget, and partly due to the fact that the water from the Tien River system in the dry season is sometimes not enough to supply water to the lower region.

If this solution is implemented, Mr. Tuyen said, it will certainly provide great support for people in these districts to have the conditions to convert crop and livestock structures to suit the conditions and needs of production development.

Farmers in the lower region of Long An province face many difficulties every dry season due to saltwater intrusion and severe shortage of fresh water. Photo: Growing melons in the lower region of Long An. Photo: T.D

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An province, in the dry season of 2023-2024, 16,300 households in the lower communes of Can Duoc, Can Giuoc, and Tan Tru districts in the province lack clean water for daily life due to drought and saltwater intrusion. In this situation, the People's Committee of Long An province has announced a natural disaster situation of saltwater intrusion in the area.

According to forecasts from professional agencies, in the coming time, the average temperature will tend to be higher than the average of many years, especially in the summer; heat waves are likely to continue to appear more frequently and more severely, with the risk of continued heat waves, drought, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion, especially in the Southern region.

Source: https://danviet.vn/dua-nuoc-ngot-song-tien-ve-giai-cuu-ba-con-vung-ha-long-an-20241230143251334.htm