The drying out of rivers around Vietnam has forced 11 hydropower plants to cease electricity generation, straining the country’s power grid as it already buckles under the scorching hot summer.
The Mekong Delta province of An Giang will build three new reservoirs to store freshwater to cope with a shortage of clean water and ensure local residents' quality of life.
Vietnam’s water demand is likely to reach about 122 billion cu.m each year from 2030, 1.5 times higher than the current amount, which means water shortage may become severe if the country fails to effectively manage the resources, said Deputy Director of the Department of Water Resources Management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) Nguyen Minh Khuyen.
The southernmost province of Ca Mau will spend over 74 billion VND (over 3.13 million USD) from the local budget on a project to sustainably provide clean water to rural residents.
The Prime Minister has just issued a decision to approve the planning of water resources for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050, with a view to tackling drought and pollution and enhancing readiness in all circumstances.
Two to four severe weather systems are predicted to directly affect Vietnam from now to the end of the year, according to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting (NCHMF).
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.
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