Many large lakes are running out of water.

Ban Ve Lake ( Nghe An province ) is short of nearly 400 million cubic meters of water, and many other lakes in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands are also below the regulated level, posing a risk of drought in the next three months.

On the morning of May 9th, Mr. Chau Tran Vinh, Director of the Water Resources Management Department ( Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment ), stated that the downstream areas of river basins in North Central Vietnam will face the risk of drought and water shortage in May-June at the end of the dry season, Central and South Central Vietnam in July-August, and the Central Highlands in May. This situation is similar to 2019 - the year El Nino impacted and caused water shortages and drought throughout Central Vietnam.

Currently, water levels in major reservoirs are 0.4-24 meters lower than the inter-reservoir operating schedule, corresponding to a water deficit of 16 to 389 million cubic meters. Besides Bản Vẽ, Ngàn Trươi reservoir (Hà Tĩnh) is short by more than 222 million cubic meters, Trị An ( Đồng Nai ) by nearly 150 million cubic meters, Buôn Tua Srah (Đăk Lăk) by more than 111 million cubic meters, and Sông Tranh 2 (Quảng Nam) by nearly 70 million cubic meters.

The predicted El Nino event in July-August will cause a 20-40% flow deficit on rivers in North Central and Central Vietnam, a 20-50% deficit on rivers in South Central Vietnam, and a 15-25% deficit on rivers in the Central Highlands compared to the multi-year average. This will exacerbate the water shortage situation.

Da Nang and Quang Nam were the first two localities to express concern about the shortage of water for daily life and irrigation. In Da Nang City, the water intake for the Cau Do Water Treatment Plant, which supplies 80% of clean water to the city of over 1.1 million people, has experienced salinity levels of approximately 1,000 mg/liter in recent days, making water collection difficult.

In Quang Nam province, although the dry season has just begun, saltwater intrusion has already occurred in the lower reaches of the Thu Bon River. The 19/5 pumping station of the Duy Phuoc Agricultural Cooperative in Duy Xuyen district, which draws water from the Cau Lau River, about 10 km from Cua Dai beach, has been found to have a salinity level of 14.7 parts per thousand.

A view of the Ban Ve hydroelectric reservoir, midday May 9th. Photo: Nguyen Hai

In response to this situation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has implemented several urgent solutions, including requiring the Vietnam Electricity Corporation to prioritize balancing water supply to downstream areas during the dry season. The agricultural sector and provinces are planning water extraction with flexible timing. The construction sector is operating large water treatment plants to ensure safe water supply to downstream areas.

Gia Chinh

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