Insecure
The Bac Hung Hai system flows through 7 districts and cities in Hai Duong, but Binh Giang is different and more special. While the other 6 localities are more or less surrounded by rivers, the water source for agricultural production in Binh Giang depends entirely on the great irrigation project that was once a symbol and pride of the entire North. Kim Son Canal is the backbone of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system. From this canal, the water source spreads, sowing life, and covering most of the communes and towns in Binh Giang district with greenery. However, besides the benefits, the Bac Hung Hai system also contains hidden dangers, especially when the rainy and stormy season comes. The banks of Kim Son Canal are struggling to withstand landslides, and the risk of the canal bank breaking exists at any time.
On March 4, the right bank of Kim Son canal in Vinh Hung commune suffered a serious landslide. The length of the landslide was about 80m, eroding the entire bank and encroaching on more than 1m of the canal body. Currently, the canal surface is less than 2m, the bank is vertical and continues to erode deeper. Inside are gardens and houses. If the canal bank breaks, the consequences will be immeasurable. A resident living near the landslide site worriedly said: “Every day I observe the landslide, seeing the soil on the bank flowing away with the water, and I feel uneasy. It is the rainy season, just a heavy rain or a long-lasting low-level rain can easily cause the canal bank to break. At that time, if the water overflows, I don't know what will happen.”
It is known that when the incident occurred, the management unit coordinated with local authorities to find a way to handle and fix it. However, until now, the concern of the canal bank breaking still exists because we have to wait for the implementation of steps and procedures.
Not only Kim Son canal but also the Tay Ke Sat canal bank is also a dangerous place during the rainy and stormy season. Many sections of the canal surface are thin and have deep cracks, so the danger of an accident is always lurking. On May 12, 2023, a 21m long section of the canal through Thuc Khang commune was deeply eroded, the canal surface was up to 0.3m. Realizing that this was a danger that needed to be remedied soon, Bac Hung Hai Irrigation Works Exploitation One Member Co., Ltd. coordinated with the locality to agree on a treatment plan for the first hour. However, due to the impact of heavy rain last June, this section of the canal continued to subside by another 25m, the surface subsided up to 0.7m deep. The People's Committee of Thuc Khang commune immediately built a temporary canal embankment, but it was still not feasible.
Visiting the canal bank, Mr. Bui Quang Son, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said impatiently: "The locality has had to reinforce and handle this section of the route 4 times, but after a short time, the landslides continued, each time more serious than the previous. Near the canal bank are schools and medical stations. The fields are also entering the winter-spring rice crop. Meanwhile, the weather is increasingly unpredictable, so incidents like this need to be prioritized for handling with hardening measures. The current handling is only a temporary solution. If not careful and cautious, it can have the opposite effect, putting pressure on the canal bank."
The Bac Hung Hai irrigation system through Binh Giang district has three main canals: Kim Son, Tay Ke Sat and Dinh Dao. Not only do they provide water for production and contribute to creating a natural ecosystem for the locality, but during the rainy season, these canals also collect water and prevent flooding.
With such a big mission and role, if the Bac Hung Hai canal bank breaks, the danger will be equivalent, or even more dangerous than a broken dike on the river outside.
Important goes hand in hand with weak
Compared to other localities in the province, the Bac Hung Hai system plays the most important role in Binh Giang district, but the risk of insecurity here is also the greatest. According to the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Hai Duong province, in Binh Giang district, there are 27 weak points on the banks of Bac Hung Hai canal, the most in the province. That is not to mention the cracks and landslides that can turn into incidents with just a small impact. These incidents can easily turn into disasters, sometimes catastrophes. The damage caused by the collapse of the Bac Hung Hai canal bank will be difficult to measure.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nha, Head of the Sat River Project Management Station (under the Bac Hung Hai Irrigation Project Exploitation Company Limited) has been working with the canals in Binh Giang district for nearly 20 years. Therefore, he has a thorough understanding of each location and section of the route that is prone to incidents and threatens the safety of the project. Mr. Nha said: “Determining the importance of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system to the locality, despite the small number of staff, the route managers have never neglected to monitor, look after and closely coordinate with the locality. Therefore, incidents related to the canal banks have been detected from the very first hour. However, the handling process has not yet met practical requirements due to limited funding and many procedures and processes.”
The Bac Hung Hai irrigation system was formed by both man-made and natural factors. In response to the urgent need to improve irrigation capacity to have abundant water resources for agricultural production and timely flood control in the North in the 1950s, from scattered inland rivers, the people and the government joined hands to dig and build the Bac Hung Hai canal, flowing through 4 provinces and cities.
Up to now, the historical and economic values of this great project are still intact, but the protection and preservation of each canal in the system has been somewhat neglected and negligent. That is why the Bac Hung Hai system has many canal bank incidents.
In Hai Duong, the canal bank in Binh Giang district is the most worrying. Here, the canal bank is long but thin while the canal bed is wide and deep, so landslides are very likely to occur. Besides that objective cause, there is also a subjective cause because many households living near the canal bank violate the canal bank protection corridor for personal and family benefits. In the past, some cases of illegal sand mining under the canal bed were still present, but this situation no longer exists but still has consequences.
Binh Giang area has also been troubled by the destruction of canal banks by fish ponds. Geological changes from digging fish ponds have directly affected the structure of the canal banks, gradually causing the banks to deteriorate, reducing their ability to withstand heavy rains and the large amount of water from upstream.
According to the authorities' calculations, the loss from the Bac Hung Hai canal bank break, if it happens, will be extremely large and the repair will be very difficult because most of the canal runs through densely populated residential areas. In Binh Giang area, it is even more complicated because there are more incidents and higher risks. The canal bed is wide, the water flow is large, but many sections of the canal bank are fragile, some sections are only a few spans wide. If there are no measures to firmly and carefully reinforce these sections, landslides will always lurk, threatening production, daily life, and even the lives of people.
The role of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system through Binh Giang district is very important, but the attention to strengthening the canal bank must also be commensurate. In the immediate future, it is necessary to completely handle the weak points and prevent violations that damage the canal bank. In the long term, it is necessary to calculate solutions so that the canal bank is no longer at potential risk before each rainy and stormy season. Only then will the Bac Hung Hai canal bank through Binh Giang district no longer be a constant concern for the people here.
STRONGSource: https://baohaiduong.vn/bo-kenh-bac-hung-hai-doan-qua-binh-giang-den-mua-lo-387036.html
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