The Mekong Delta region faces the risk of water shortages, drought and saline intrusion due to low water sources from the upper Mekong River and human exploitation of land and forests in the upstream, experts have warned.
Thousands of residents in the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien – Hue will be able to get clean water from a project mitigating water shortages in the dry season that has started in the central region.
Repairs to two plants turning sea water into fresh water on An Binh Island in Ly Son district of central Quang Ngai province have been completed, the Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam Company (Doosan Vina) said on March 19.
Storms and tropical depressions are likely to hit the northern region and the northern reaches of the central region during August and September, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Localities stricken by serious drought, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion will receive funding from the central budget to deal with these issues.
The most severe saline intrusion - the movement of ocean saltwater into riverine freshwater - is said to occur in the Mekong Delta region from February 8 to 16, coinciding with the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, since Chinese hydro-power plants have reduced their water discharge, which affects water flows downstream on the Mekong River, experts have said.
Close to 55,000 ha of crops in the central region are lacking in water, according to the Directorate of Water Resources at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
All residents in rural areas of the Mekong Delta must have access to clean water, Nguyen Hoang Hiep, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a seminar held in Soc Trang province on May 27.
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) is planning to invest in a water desalination plant to supply the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in response to ongoing and future droughts.
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on April 30 attended a ceremony to hand over a RO water purifier to the authority of Giong Trom district in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre which aims to meet the demand of fresh water for local people.
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.
By 2050, 60 percent of farming areas in Vietnam will be equipped with water-saving irrigation systems, according to the country's Water Management Strategy, which was recently approved by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
The national irrigation department has reported a staggeringly low level of water reserves in northern and central regions, signalling the threat of a severe drought in 2020.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has directed the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to prepare solutions in order to ensure electricity supply in 2020, especially in the dry season.
The south central province of Binh Dinh is experiencing its most serious drought in the last 15 years, with 4,000 households and 3,400ha of crops lacking water.
Prolonged hot weather in the central region has caused low water levels in reservoirs and dams, seriously affecting agricultural production and the daily lives of local residents.
Facing water shortages, farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have grown corn on nearly 2,000ha of rice fields for the 2018-19 winter-spring crop.
The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces should speed up the use of efficient irrigation technologies to mitigate the effects of droughts and water shortages, Nguyen Van Tinh, General Director of the Directorate of Water Resources, has said.
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