Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta tends to increase gradually.

Building a dam to prevent saltwater intrusion at the mouth of Lau canal, Ngu Hiep commune, Cai Lay district, Tien Giang province. Photo: VNA

Commenting on the trend of salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta from April 21 to 30, Head of the Hydrological Forecasting Department of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Phung Tien Dung said that salinity intrusion in the above area tends to increase gradually at the weekend.

The highest salinity at the stations is higher than the highest salinity in April 2023.

The depth of the 4‰ salinity boundary during this period is likely to be as follows: The range of salinity intrusion on the Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay rivers is 90-120km; the Cua Tieu and Cua Dai rivers is 40-50km; the Ham Luong river is 50-55km; the Co Chien river is 40-45km; the Hau river is 40-50km; and the Cai Lon river is 45-55km.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting predicts that salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta in the 2023-2024 dry season will be higher than the average of many years but not as severe as the 2015-2016 and 2019-2020 dry seasons.

Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta estuaries tends to decrease gradually but remains at a high level. In particular, in the Vam Co, Cai Lon and Cai Be rivers, saltwater intrusion still increases until the first half of May, then gradually decreases from the second half of May.

The salinity intrusion situation in the Mekong Delta depends on water resources from the upper Mekong River, high tides and will continue to fluctuate in the coming time.

Localities in the Mekong Delta need to promptly update meteorological and hydrological forecast information and take proactive measures to prevent and combat saline intrusion. The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warns of level 2 natural disaster risk due to saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

Salinity intrusion deep into rivers, canals and streams will affect the daily life and production of people in the area. Localities need to take advantage of storing fresh water during low tides to serve agriculture and people's lives, and at the same time need to limit irrigation to minimize production damage.

People should plant seasonal crops that can withstand high salinity levels, change the breeding structure appropriately, and have careful care measures to limit damage caused by drought and salinity intrusion.

For areas growing fruit trees with high economic value and poor salinity tolerance, before watering, people need to check the salinity concentration.

Besides storing and saving, people need to install saltwater filtration systems to ensure the best amount of water for daily use and irrigation.

The saltwater filtration system is considered a measure to directly use the current saltwater source. The filtration system processes the dissolved salt components in the water, providing a source of water with reasonable sweetness. In particular, the filtered water can be used for direct drinking or irrigation for plants with low salt tolerance.

Aquaculture households must monitor the salinity of the farming environment, thereby determining the start and end time of farming in accordance with the current state of salinity intrusion.

According to Vietnam+

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