Vietnamplus

A water-by-wind (WbW) demonstration model funded by the Belgian Government was officially put into use in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan on March 15.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered concerned ministries and Mekong Delta provinces to proactively respond to saline intrusion and water shortage in the coming months in an official dispatch.

Many regions across the country, especially the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta, face risks of water shortage, drought and saline intrusion next month, according to hydro-meteorology experts.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tra Vinh has taken a number of measures to prevent droughts, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion in the upcoming dry season to minimise possible damage caused by them.

The Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang has developed a plan to respond to drought, water shortage, and saline intrusion in the dry season in late-2020 and early-2021, a conference held by the provincial People’s Committee on October 5 heard.

The Hydro-Informatics Institute (HII) under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation of Thailand, which analyses water-related data, is warning of a water shortage as it expects this year's rainy season to be shorter than usual.

The south-central region is estimated to have 51,000 – 70,000ha of farmlands facing a water shortage and a temporary halt to cultivation until there is rain or farmers switch to drought-resistant crops, according to the General Department of Irrigation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Mekong Delta province of Long An, which has been hit by severe drought this year, needs more fresh water, but can only supply about 50 percent of demand from its 35 fresh water treatment plants and stations.

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has earmarked over 175.8 billion VND (7.54 million USD) to build clean water supply works in the coastal area in the dry season 2020.

Thousands of hectares of farmland in the central region are likely to face severe water shortages for the summer-autumn rice crop, according to the Directorate of Water Resources under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The People’s Committee of the southern province of Dong Nai has called on relevant agencies and the public to take proactive measures to ward off a freshwater shortage as drought and saltwater intrusion in rivers cause an increasing shortage.

The central city has begun construction of a steel dam – the second of its kind – on the lower Cam Le River to reduce salinity and deal with serious water shortages in the dry season this year.

People in rural areas in the Cambodian northwestern provinces of Pursat and Battambang have been suffering from water shortage for more than four months, reported the Cambodia’s Khmer Times.

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has earmarked roughly 9.2 billion VND (over 396,700 USD) to provide 4,000 drought-hit households in Cang Long and Chau Thanh districts with access to clean water.

Little rainfall is forecast across the country in March and April, the remaining months of the dry season, particularly in the central region, said Vu Duc Long, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

Rivers across Vietnam are facing severe water shortages in the coming dry season.

The Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, an area that helps feed about 200 million people, is predicted to sink underwater by 2100.

Thai authorities have urged 31 out of 77 provinces and administrative areas nationwide to brace for severe drought in 2020.

Many reservoirs in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan are facing a shortage of water, affecting supply for the 2019-2020 winter-spring crop, animals and household use.

Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) on October 22 urged people in some localities to brace up for water shortage that could last for eight months as the dry season is expected to begin on November 1.