There are still many dams in the province that have reached their deadline but have not been inspected for dam safety.

In-depth testing

The assessment of the provincial Irrigation Department shows that the work of ensuring the safety of dams and irrigation reservoirs has been seriously implemented by localities and units in accordance with the provisions of the Irrigation Law. However, some other regulations such as dam safety inspection, construction of downstream flood maps, marking of protection corridors, etc. require large funds to implement, so this work is still "unfinished".

According to the Government 's regulations on dam and reservoir safety management, reservoirs must be inspected for the first time in the third year from the date of water storage to normal water level. Re-inspection must be conducted every 5 years from the last inspection for dams and reservoirs of special importance, large and medium.

The Provincial Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation One Member Co., Ltd. (Irrigation Company) - the unit managing 24 large, medium and small reservoirs in the province said that currently, only Khe Ngang irrigation reservoir ( Hue City) was inspected in 2020 (not yet due for re-inspection) and 5 other irrigation reservoirs in localities have just been upgraded and repaired (dam safety has been inspected and assessed), the rest of the reservoirs are due but have not yet conducted dam and reservoir safety inspections due to lack of funds.

Mr. Le Van Tuyen, Deputy Head of the Technical - Water Management Department of the Irrigation Company, said that for reservoirs that are due for inspection, the unit has developed a plan and budget estimate to submit to competent authorities for consideration and decision. However, funding for safety inspection of dams and reservoirs is still very difficult.

According to the company's calculations, on average, a large irrigation reservoir (capacity of over 3 million m3 and dam height equal to or over 15m) costs about 1.5 billion VND/reservoir for dam safety inspection. To have funding for implementation, since 2021, the company has submitted a document requesting approval of a plan to carry out a number of tasks according to the provisions of the Law on Water Resources and guiding documents to ensure the safety of dams and reservoirs. Accordingly, the company proposed to allocate more than 151 billion VND to invest in repairing and upgrading dams and reservoirs; installing dam monitoring equipment, repairing and upgrading modernizing operating equipment, building flood maps, etc., including the item of dam safety inspection of reservoirs with a budget of more than 11 billion VND. However, up to now, dam safety inspection is still difficult due to lack of funding. Due to difficulties, currently, the safety inspection of dams and reservoirs before the flood season is only performed visually, without carrying out specialized procedures.

Prioritize the necessary lakes

According to Mr. Le Van Tuyen, in the immediate future, the unit will prioritize the reservoirs that need to be inspected promptly, using the unit's existing capital and revenue sources to gradually inspect dams and reservoirs under its management according to regulations. At the same time, it is proposed to supplement the medium-term capital plan for 2026 - 2030 to inspect reservoirs in accordance with regulations.

The provincial Irrigation Department said that the province currently has 56 irrigation reservoirs with a total capacity of about 770 million m3. Of these, there is one particularly important reservoir managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), eight large reservoirs, 17 medium reservoirs and 30 small reservoirs. The Irrigation Company manages 24 large, medium and small reservoirs, while the remaining 31 reservoirs are managed by localities.

In the whole province, there are currently 3 reservoirs that have been inspected, including the newly built Thuy Yen reservoir, Truoi and Hoa My reservoirs which have been inspected in phase 1, and Khe Ngang which has been inspected in 2020. In addition, the Dam Repair and Safety Improvement Sub-project (WB8) has completed the repair and improvement of dam safety for 9 reservoirs: Phu Bai 2, Ba Cua, Nam Lang, Ta Rinh, Ka Tu, Phu Nu, Cay Coi, Cua, Khe Rung. The Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Agricultural and Rural Development Works has repaired and upgraded Tho Son reservoir, Phong Dien District People's Committee has invested in upgrading and repairing Khe Mang reservoir, Irrigation Company has invested in repairing A La, Kam Don B, Khe Ngang reservoirs, and Hue City People's Committee has invested in repairing Khe Nuoc reservoir.

For the remaining reservoirs, every year, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Dam and Reservoir Safety Assessment Advisory Council conduct safety inspections of dams and reservoirs to promptly detect damage, incidents, and operational processes of the works in order to have solutions to overcome and ensure the safety of dams and irrigation reservoirs before and after the flood season.

Localities with dams, reservoirs and Irrigation Companies need to proactively establish inspection teams to ensure construction safety, regularly patrol to promptly detect incidents to ensure the construction always operates stably and safely.

In the context of the province's budget still facing many difficulties, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has advised the Provincial People's Committee to request financial support from the central budget, projects to enhance the safety of dams and reservoirs sponsored by domestic and foreign organizations and other legal sources to gradually complete and fully perform the tasks of managing, exploiting and protecting irrigation works according to regulations.


Article and photos: HA NGUYEN