Many hydroelectric lakes are bare bottomed, lacking irrigation water, trees are withered, Kon Tum farmers are restless

Although the dry season has not yet reached its peak, many places in Kon Tum province have experienced a shortage of irrigation water. Some irrigation dams in the province have dried up, making farmers in the province restless.

Dozens of households are waiting for the irrigation lake to dry up.

As one of the large irrigation lakes serving farmers in village 4, Dien Binh commune, Dak To district (Kon Tum province), Ta Kang irrigation lake, which covers tens of thousands of square meters, has now dried up to the bottom, leaving only small puddles of water. Around the lake are a series of pumps operating at full capacity, however, the amount of water is not enough for farmers to irrigate their coffee.

Mr. Bui Huu Tri spent about 43 million VND to drill a well and 15 million VND to install a water-saving irrigation system because the irrigation lake was dry.

Mr. Bui Huu Tri (village 4, Dien Binh commune, Dak To district) said that his family has nearly 1 hectare of coffee and 1 hectare of pepper. Because the water from Ta Kang lake is not enough for irrigation, his family had to dig a well to have water to irrigate about 7 sao of coffee and 1 hectare of pepper.

"The family spent about 43 million VND to drill a well and 15 million VND to install a water-saving irrigation system before the dry season. However, if the drought lasts for a few more months, I'm afraid there won't be enough water to irrigate the whole garden. People in the area have repeatedly complained to the authorities about the lack of water in this irrigation reservoir, but so far there has been no solution," said Mr. Tuong.

While struggling with a small puddle at the bottom of the lake, Mr. Bui Van Tuoi (village 4, Dien Binh commune, Dak To district) said that although the lake has dried up, people still take turns using machines to pump water. Every day, he has to try to save the little water left in the small puddles to irrigate his family's 1.5 hectares of coffee.

"For the past two years, every dry season, Ta Kang irrigation lake has dried up to the bottom. About 20 households rely on this irrigation lake to irrigate dozens of hectares of crops. Many coffee gardens lack water, causing stunted plants and reduced productivity. Now, people can only rely on the little underground water left in the lake to overcome this drought," Mr. Tuoi said.

Mr. Bui Van Tuoi carefully uses the little water left in small puddles to irrigate his family's 1.5 hectares of coffee.

According to Kon Tum Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited, Ta Kang Dam is dry partly because the dam is filled with soil and is leaking; partly because the irrigation capacity of the dam is only about 30 hectares, but people in this area use the dam to irrigate crops 5 times more than the dam's designed capacity, with about more than 200 hectares. In this area, some coffee areas of the people have appeared to be wilted and dry.

Up to now, there are 5 irrigation projects and reservoirs at risk of water shortage, including Tan Dien reservoir, Ca Tien reservoir, Kon Trang Kla irrigation dam, Ta Rop pumping station and Ta Wac pumping station.

More than 1,800 hectares of crops will lack water.

According to the Department of Irrigation and Water Resources, Department of Agriculture and Environment of Kon Tum province, there are currently about 380 hectares of rice, industrial crops, and vegetables lacking water because lakes, dams, and pumping stations cannot ensure water supply until the end of the crop. Of these, about 29 hectares of rice are in the Tan Dien lake irrigation area; 150 hectares of rice are in the Ca Tien lake irrigation area; more than 92 hectares of crops are in the Ta Wac pumping station; and more than 100 hectares of crops are in the Ta Rop pumping station.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Kon Tum province has issued a document requesting the People's Committees of districts, cities and units to monitor the water levels of reservoirs to proactively regulate water appropriately. At the same time, make the most of water sources from streams, ponds and lakes to choose places to install additional irrigation pumps for areas that can withstand drought; or use measures to build temporary dams to block streams and use water pumps for irrigation.

Reporters from Dan Viet Newspaper recorded the reality at Ta Kang irrigation lake, the bottom was dry, with only a few small puddles of water surrounded by many water pumps.

According to Kon Tum Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited, it is forecasted that if the hot weather continues until May 2025, many dams will run out of water, and about 1,827 hectares of crops in areas such as Kon Tum City, Dak Ha, Sa Thay, Ngoc Hoi, Dak Glei, Kon Ray, and Dak To districts are expected to lack water.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dan - Deputy Director of Kon Tum Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited said that the unit is currently implementing drought prevention measures for crops in areas with water shortages. Specifically, for electric pumping stations (Ta Rop, Ta Wac...), backup pumps are installed, pipelines are connected, and water is taken from the riverbed to supply water to combat drought.

Conduct inspection and maintenance of pumps and water supply pipelines of the pumping station to supply water to Tan Dien field to fight drought; install additional pipelines connecting from the end of the Vinh Quang pump station pipeline to supply water to Ca Tien field; install an electric pumping station to take water from Ngo Trang stream to pump additional water to the irrigation area at the end of N3 route, and at the same time, supply water from N1 canal of Kon Trang Kla dam and N22 irrigation sluice of the Nam canal of Dak Uy reservoir.

Source: https://danviet.vn/nhieu-ho-thuy-dien-tro-day-thieu-nuoc-tuoi-cay-coi-heo-kho-nong-dan-kon-tum-dung-ngo-khong-yen-20250313184217288.htm