According to Mr. Ngo, in Soc Trang, specifically the word segment Military School of Military Region 9 towards Bac Lieu province, In some places, saline groundwater was discovered at a depth of 500m. Currently, the salinity is over 1‰.
Mr. Dang Van Ngo - General Director of Soc Trang Provincial Water Supply Joint Stock Company talked about saline groundwater at a depth of 500m. Photo: Huynh Xay
“Salinized groundwater sources are gradually encroaching, towards Bac Lieu province. This water source is very difficult to handle" - Mr. Ngo said.
Mr. Ngo said that in the Mekong Delta, there are two water sources, including surface water on rivers and canals and underground water sources. Currently, in addition to saltwater intrusion in surface water sources, underground water sources also suffer.
Therefore, Mr. Ngo commented, the underground water source "step by step is no longer as good as we think".
Regarding the general drought and salinity situation in the Mekong Delta, Mr. Le Ngoc Quyen - Director of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Station (General Department of Meteorology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) said that in the last 10 years, the saline drought situation has been severe. paralysis. From the second half of December 12 until now, the Mekong Delta region has had almost no rain, some places have rain but the amount is very low.
Mr. Le Ngoc Quyen - Director of the Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Station informed about the situation of drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta. Photo: Huynh Xay
Currently, in the provinces of Soc Trang, Long An, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau... saltwater intrusion is common, higher than the average of many years (only lower than the dry season of 2016 and 2020).
According to Mr. Quyen, since September 9, in response to the flood situation upstream, the unit has monitored and warned early on which areas in the Mekong Delta are affected to provide information as soon as possible to reach the victims. people and local authorities to have plans in production. Thanks to that, some localities have proactively sowed seeds early, avoided salinity, and stored water.
Mr. Tran Ba Hoang - Director of the Southern Institute of Irrigation Sciences (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that based on early forecasts and specialized forecasts, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities have given directions for appropriate production management. physical.
Up to this point, damage related to drought and saltwater intrusion has only occurred in a few places due to cultivation outside recommendations. The entire area of 1,5 million hectares of Winter-Spring rice has been harvested, most of it has good yield, currently 78.000 hectares are in bloom, with the risk of affecting about 20.000 hectares.
According to Dr. Tran Huu Hiep - an expert on economics and agriculture in the Mekong Delta, for many years, people have chosen to live with drought and salinity, but depending on the time, their awareness and adaptation solutions are different.
Regarding solutions in the future, Mr. Hiep said that it is necessary to have early forecasts for people to access and regularly update drought and salinity maps.
At the same time, we consider drought and saltwater intrusion as cyclical characteristics and proactively regulate the irrigation system according to strict operating mechanisms...
