Responding to climate change - Upgrading dike and irrigation systems

After the merger, the system of dikes and irrigation works including dikes and culverts in the city is quite large, but many works are in a state of degradation and instability.

Co Tieu culvert (Kien Hai commune). Photo: TRUNG KIEN

After the merger, the city's dike system and irrigation works, including dikes and culverts, are quite large, but many of them are in a state of disrepair and instability. This situation requires large, synchronous investments to respond to climate change.

Actual responsiveness is still weak

According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the city currently has 43 dikes, 662 culverts under the dikes, 174 embankments of all kinds. The irrigation system in the eastern part of the city has 696 electric pumping stations, 3,833 submerged canals from level 3 and above with a total length of 4,059 km, 1,296 km of hard canals after electric pumping stations, 15,958 intra-field canals. The western part of the city has 1,245 electric pumping stations, 68 reservoirs, 10,465 canals, and 840 embankments.

Currently, the quality of the dike system for stability only accounts for 86%, about 645 (km); the remaining 105 km of unstable areas accounts for 13%, 40 km of critical areas, with the risk of insecurity at any time. In fact, some dike routes in the 2025 storm season in An Hung and Kien Hung communes experienced leaks, water seepage, and landslides. Along with that, the entire city has about 103 km of dikes that are not yet at the design elevation. The culvert system under the dike also has only 405 culverts that are still operating well, 160 culverts that need to be repaired, 87 culverts that need to be newly built, 62 km of unstable embankments, 14 km of critical embankments, especially many canals that do not have enough power to bring water to the fields...

In Yet Kieu commune, after the merger, there are 26 villages, but the irrigation works in the area are currently seriously degraded, difficult to meet the requirements of agricultural production. Chairman of Yet Kieu Commune People's Committee Pham Thi Thu said: Currently, the irrigation canal and ditch system in the area is broken and divided. Therefore, right after Yet Kieu commune was established, the locality had to respond to storm No. 3 in the condition of degraded irrigation system, facing many difficulties.

In addition, the commune government is concerned that the limited capacity of the irrigation system will cause the kohlrabi and cabbage growing area this winter to face the risk of water shortage.

Explaining the reasons for the above difficulties, Mr. Pham Duc Duyen, Head of the Department of Water Resources Management and Natural Disaster Prevention (Department of Agriculture and Environment) said that currently the number of irrigation works in the city is quite large, but many works are degraded. The irrigation infrastructure is not synchronous, especially the system of key pumping stations, the driving force in the region is not complete, limited in some low-lying, low-lying areas, along rivers and seas. In some areas, the drainage system is not synchronized with the traffic infrastructure, industrial parks and new residential areas. This reduces the capacity to serve the works.

While climate change, rising sea levels and rapid urbanization increase the need for modernization, the management of irrigation and drainage systems must be unified. Although every year, central ministries, branches and cities pay attention to repairing and maintaining many irrigation works, the investment is not synchronous, so the efficiency is not high and does not meet practical requirements.

Synchronous investment, coordinated handling, timely response

In the long term, increasing investment resources for dike systems and irrigation works is very necessary.

The current state of the dyke system and irrigation works is difficult to meet the increasingly complex requirements of climate change and the recent trend of increasingly strong storms. Therefore, the city leaders always pay attention and give close direction. Especially when there are storms, tropical depressions or unpredictable climate change, the city leaders stop all daily tasks, urgently carry out storm prevention and control tasks, and direct localities to focus on storm prevention and control work in areas of dykes, embankments, and vulnerable culverts, with high risks of landslides, leaks, etc. In these areas, the city leaders require localities to be on duty regularly and handle situations promptly.

In the current conditions, to ensure the safety of the dike and irrigation systems that are resilient to natural disasters, storms and the impacts of climate change, coordination and cooperation of functional agencies and local authorities in response work is needed.

In the long term, increasing investment resources for the dike system and irrigation works is very necessary. At the supervision of the Economic - Urban Board at the Department of Agriculture and Environment on the implementation of public investment projects in the period of 2021 - 2025, proposing an investment plan for the period of 2026 - 2030, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hai Phong Duong Dinh On affirmed: In recent years, public investment capital for the irrigation and dike sector has been limited, while the demand for investment, upgrading and construction of new works is very large. However, the priority of allocating public investment capital of the city in recent times has mainly focused on transport, urban and industrial infrastructure, causing the irrigation and dike system to not receive due attention. Therefore, in the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment proposes that in the period 2025 - 2030, the city prioritizes public investment capital for the construction of irrigation works, especially in difficult rural areas.

HUONG AN

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/ung-pho-bien-doi-khi-hau-nang-cap-he-thong-de-dieu-thuy-loi-526693.html