Khanh Hoa province is taking decisive action to address cracks and water seepage at the Song Than reservoir.

On the morning of December 11th, Mr. Le Xuan Toan, Deputy Director of the Investment and Construction Project Management Board of Khanh Hoa province, stated that at the Song Than reservoir (in Anh Dung commune), some cracks on the dam surface and water seepage inside the dam body corridor, which some media outlets have recently reported, are only minor damages and do not affect the dam body structure; the safety level of the project remains assured.

Some cracks on the surface of the Song Than reservoir dam (which is actually a layer of fine-grained concrete covering the dam body, creating a protective slope above the rock concrete layer) have been repaired. Photo: VNA

Speaking with a reporter from the Vietnam News Agency (TTXVN), Mr. Le Xuan Toan stated: In early November 2025, upon receiving information from Ninh Thuan Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited (the temporary reservoir operator) about the discovery of several damaged areas in the reservoir, the Investment and Construction Project Management Board conducted an inspection and found that the concrete dam body corridor of the main dam of the Song Than reservoir showed many small seepage streams at construction joints and concrete joints at the junction between the concrete and the PVC drainage pipes of the dam body.

Specifically, there are 5 locations with water seepage in the dam's corridor; one of these locations has significant seepage with a flow rate of approximately 0.3 liters/second (equivalent to 25.92 m3/day), resulting in the corridor remaining constantly damp. However, the Khanh Hoa Provincial Investment and Construction Project Management Board asserts that this seepage level is still within permissible limits.

Regarding the cracks on the dam face, they are actually a 6cm thick layer of fine-grained concrete covering the dam body, designed to create a protective slope on top of a 20cm thick layer of 1x2 aggregate concrete. However, the Project Management Board has excavated and inspected the area and found it to be completely normal, with no impact on the dam's structural integrity.

To ensure the safety of the reservoir structure, the Khanh Hoa Provincial Investment and Construction Project Management Board has taken remedial action. To date, the concrete cracks on the main dam surface and inside the dam's corridor have been completely repaired and resolved since the beginning of December 2025.

Mr. Le Xuan Toan added that this afternoon (December 11th), the Investment and Construction Project Management Board and a working group from the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, the design consulting unit, the construction unit, and independent experts will continue to visit the Song Than water reservoir project to determine the cause, the extent of the impact, and propose comprehensive solutions to ensure the safety of the structure in the future.

Small seepage points at construction joints and concrete joints where concrete meets PVC drainage pipes in the dam body of the Song Than reservoir have been addressed. (Photo: VNA)

The Song Than Reservoir project is a Group B project, a Level II agricultural and rural development project, commenced in 2018, with a total investment of over 1,040 billion VND from government bonds, central and local budgets. The project is scheduled to be inaugurated in September 2025.

The Song Than Reservoir has a designed capacity of over 85 million m3. The project includes: an earth dam 1,029 m long and 33 m high; a concrete dam over 300 m long and 39 m high; auxiliary dam 1 over 395 m long with a maximum height of 6 m; and auxiliary dam 2 over 22 m long with a maximum height of 2.2 m.

The Song Than Reservoir was a key project of the former Ninh Thuan province, responsible for supplying irrigation water to over 4,500 hectares of cultivated land, supplementing water for reservoirs in communes such as Phuoc Hau, Phuoc Huu, and Ninh Phuoc, providing domestic water for people in the downstream area, and supporting other key economic sectors in the southern part of what is now Khanh Hoa province.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/khanh-hoa-xu-ly-dut-diem-vet-nut-tham-nuoc-tai-ho-chua-nuoc-song-than-20251211113042641.htm