Long An working hard to cope with saline intrusion

Long An (VNA) - The agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta province of Long An has been actively adopting a wide range of solutions to store water resources for production and daily life as part of efforts to prevent the effects of saltwater intrusion.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the local agriculture sector and related localities are working on regularly monitoring the level of salinity and developing a reasonable operation plan for main sluices to store sufficient water in canals and ditches when salinity decreases.

Irrigation systems in the districts of Thu Thua, Thanh Hoa, and Tan An and the Nhat Tao - Tan Tru irrigation system are operating to store water for the production and daily life of local residents.

The sector has also urgently built five temporary dams on canals along National Highway No 62, where saltwater prevention sluices have not been built, to prevent saltwater intrusion from the Vam Co Tay River into agricultural production areas in Thanh Hoa and Tan Thanh districts.

Additionally, the provincial Department of Transport is urgently building and installing 18 anti-salinity sluice gates along National Highway No 62 and Provincial Road No 836. This sluice system is expected to actively contribute to preventing the effects of saline intrusion in the area.

Communications activities have been promoted, advising people not to take water in already salty areas, and to quickly store water in ponds, fields, and water storage equipment when water resources are abundant and saltwater has not yet penetrated into inland canals.

Saltwater intrusion is forecast to develop in a complex fashion in the locality during February, March, and April.

Nearly 5,200 ha of rice and over 3,500 ha of fruit trees and vegetable areas in the southern districts of the province are likely to be affected by drought and saline intrusion this year./.