People use machines to work on a canal in Nga Nam District, Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang to improve irrigation and prevent saltwater intrusion. (Photo: VNA)HCMCity (VNA) - Many provinces in the Mekong Delta are taking measuresto secure freshwater for farming and household use since drought and saltwaterintrusion is expected to be severe in the 2016-17 dry season.
Nguyen Thien Phap, head of the Tien Giang provincial Irrigation Sub-department,said according to the Central Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting, thedrought and saltwater encroachment into rivers would occur earlier than normalyears.
Rivers are expected to have a salt content of 2 grammes per litre 55-60kminland in March and April next year, he said.
Saltwater has already flowed 20km up the Tien River in Tien Giang, according tothe province’s Irrigation Sub-department.
Tien Giang’s three eastern districts, Go Cong Tay, Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong,which are often affected by drought and saltwater, have reduced the number ofannual rice crops and switched to cash crops that require less water.
Nguyen Van Hai, head of the Tan Phu Dong Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentBureau, said the district has dredged 17 canals to store freshwater.
The province has laid a pipe network that can carry 6,000cu.m of tap waterdaily from Go Cong Tay to Tan Phu Dong and provided local residents with watertanks to store freshwater, he said.
In addition, it has allocated 3 billion VND (136,000 USD) to Tan Phu Dong toupgrade and lay new water pipes in residential areas that lack supply, he said.
The district will set up 33 public sites and six ponds where water will beprovided to the public, he said.
“I think 45,000 residents here will be supplied water.”
Tien Giang dredged on an emergency basis eight main canals in Go Cong DongDistrict with a total length of 30km to store water for the dry season.
It is also building four temporary dams in Cai Lay district to preventsaltwater from entering the Tien River.
Le Van Hoang, Director of the Long An provincial Department of Agriculture andRural Development, said his department has sought funds from the People’sCommittee to dredge more than 10 irrigation facilities in Can Giuoc, Can Duoc, ThuThua and Tan Tru districts and Tan An city.
Long An has also decided to build six dams along National Highway No. 62 tokeep saltwater out of the Vam Co Tay River, which provides water for irrigationto Long An and Tien Giang provinces.
In Ben Tre province, saltwater had intruded 10km into the Binh Trung Canal in BinhDai district by the end of October.
On November 26, Ba Tri district put into operation a plant that can desalinate1,000cu.m of water with a salt content of 16 per cent daily.
It can meet the demand of 1,500 households for fresh water in An Hiep commune.
HuynhThi Pha of An Hiep said she hoped the lives of locals would improve with theplant since they can buy freshwater at regulated prices.
During the drought and saltwater intrusion last season, her family spent morethan 2 million VND (90 USD) in buying freshwater for drinking at high prices.
Authorities call for early rice crop
Authorities in the delta have urged farmers in areas susceptible to droughtand saltwater intrusion to complete sowing the 2016-17 winter-spring rice earlyto avoid the impacts of the twin threats, which peak near the end of thecrop.
Since the floods in the Mekong River have begun to recede, farmers in the deltaare entering the main sowing period.
The delta, the country’s rice granary, is expected to plant 1.5 millionhectares in the 2016-17 winter-spring rice crop, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development’s plant cultivation department.
Based on the department’s schedule, farmers began sowing the crop last monthand hope to finish by January 10.
This is the year’s main rice crop with its high yields and low costs comparedto the others. Farmers here grow up to three crops annually.
Farmers in Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) in Dong Thap province have this yearsowed the crop two weeks to one month early to avoid drought and saltwater,according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Cao Van Hoa, deputy director of the Tien Giang Province Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said coastal districts had been instructedto grow only two rice crops this year and so did not grow the autumn-wintercrop.
About 4,000ha had been left fallow during autumn-winter, and so farmers havebeen able to sow the winter-spring crop two months early, he said.-VNA
Nguyen Thien Phap, head of the Tien Giang provincial Irrigation Sub-department,said according to the Central Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting, thedrought and saltwater encroachment into rivers would occur earlier than normalyears.
Rivers are expected to have a salt content of 2 grammes per litre 55-60kminland in March and April next year, he said.
Saltwater has already flowed 20km up the Tien River in Tien Giang, according tothe province’s Irrigation Sub-department.
Tien Giang’s three eastern districts, Go Cong Tay, Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong,which are often affected by drought and saltwater, have reduced the number ofannual rice crops and switched to cash crops that require less water.
Nguyen Van Hai, head of the Tan Phu Dong Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentBureau, said the district has dredged 17 canals to store freshwater.
The province has laid a pipe network that can carry 6,000cu.m of tap waterdaily from Go Cong Tay to Tan Phu Dong and provided local residents with watertanks to store freshwater, he said.
In addition, it has allocated 3 billion VND (136,000 USD) to Tan Phu Dong toupgrade and lay new water pipes in residential areas that lack supply, he said.
The district will set up 33 public sites and six ponds where water will beprovided to the public, he said.
“I think 45,000 residents here will be supplied water.”
Tien Giang dredged on an emergency basis eight main canals in Go Cong DongDistrict with a total length of 30km to store water for the dry season.
It is also building four temporary dams in Cai Lay district to preventsaltwater from entering the Tien River.
Le Van Hoang, Director of the Long An provincial Department of Agriculture andRural Development, said his department has sought funds from the People’sCommittee to dredge more than 10 irrigation facilities in Can Giuoc, Can Duoc, ThuThua and Tan Tru districts and Tan An city.
Long An has also decided to build six dams along National Highway No. 62 tokeep saltwater out of the Vam Co Tay River, which provides water for irrigationto Long An and Tien Giang provinces.
In Ben Tre province, saltwater had intruded 10km into the Binh Trung Canal in BinhDai district by the end of October.
On November 26, Ba Tri district put into operation a plant that can desalinate1,000cu.m of water with a salt content of 16 per cent daily.
It can meet the demand of 1,500 households for fresh water in An Hiep commune.
HuynhThi Pha of An Hiep said she hoped the lives of locals would improve with theplant since they can buy freshwater at regulated prices.
During the drought and saltwater intrusion last season, her family spent morethan 2 million VND (90 USD) in buying freshwater for drinking at high prices.
Authorities call for early rice crop
Authorities in the delta have urged farmers in areas susceptible to droughtand saltwater intrusion to complete sowing the 2016-17 winter-spring rice earlyto avoid the impacts of the twin threats, which peak near the end of thecrop.
Since the floods in the Mekong River have begun to recede, farmers in the deltaare entering the main sowing period.
The delta, the country’s rice granary, is expected to plant 1.5 millionhectares in the 2016-17 winter-spring rice crop, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development’s plant cultivation department.
Based on the department’s schedule, farmers began sowing the crop last monthand hope to finish by January 10.
This is the year’s main rice crop with its high yields and low costs comparedto the others. Farmers here grow up to three crops annually.
Farmers in Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) in Dong Thap province have this yearsowed the crop two weeks to one month early to avoid drought and saltwater,according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Cao Van Hoa, deputy director of the Tien Giang Province Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said coastal districts had been instructedto grow only two rice crops this year and so did not grow the autumn-wintercrop.
About 4,000ha had been left fallow during autumn-winter, and so farmers havebeen able to sow the winter-spring crop two months early, he said.-VNA
VNA
