Only 28% of irrigation reservoirs have established operating procedures.

(PLVN) - On the morning of November 19, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a forum on "Improving the effectiveness of information and warning, ensuring safe operation of dams and reservoirs in the new situation". The event raised urgent issues of the system of reservoirs and irrigation dams that are "shouldering" many important national tasks.

11/19/2024 20:46

(PLVN) - On the morning of November 19, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a forum on "Improving the effectiveness of information and warning, ensuring safe operation of dams and reservoirs in the new situation". The event raised urgent issues of the system of reservoirs and irrigation dams that are "shouldering" many important national tasks.

The importance of lakes and dams

Currently, the system of reservoirs and irrigation dams “shoulders” many important tasks such as providing water for agricultural, industrial and domestic production combined with flood reduction; serving multiple purposes such as supplying water for electricity generation, creating space for solar power development, aquaculture, tourism development, etc. Vietnam's reservoirs and dams are facing many challenges related to climate change and structural degradation.

According to Mr. Luong Van Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Irrigation, the country currently has more than 7,300 dams and reservoirs (592 dams, more than 6,700 reservoirs) with a total storage capacity of about 15.2 billion m3. Of which, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is assigned to manage 4 especially important reservoirs and 1 inter-provincial reservoir. The Ministry decentralizes the management of the remaining 8 inter-provincial reservoirs to localities.

Localities manage more than 6,700 reservoirs. Of these, 63 provincial-level units technically manage more than 2,300 large, medium and small reservoirs (accounting for 34%). District and commune-level units technically manage more than 4,200 reservoirs (of which 64% are small).

Mr. Luong Van Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Regarding the reservoir bed and downstream area of ​​the dam, many reservoirs only cleared the reservoir bed to the normal water level (NLS), not to the design flood level (DFL). Many violations such as building houses, planting trees, etc. have reduced the storage space and flood discharge capacity of some large reservoirs such as Nui Coc, Vuc Mau, Ayun Ha, La Ring, Dau Tieng, etc. People's activities taking place in the reservoir bed area create pressure on reservoir operations.

Legally, irrigation reservoirs must be operated according to operating procedures (OPPs) that are established, approved, and publicly announced as prescribed. However, currently only 28% of reservoirs have OPPs (including 213 reservoirs with regulating gates and 1,600 reservoirs with free spillways).

Current QTVH operations are mainly based on weather forecasts (predicted rain), due to the lack of rain gauges in the reservoir basin. Some tasks are still limited due to insufficient funding, focusing on small and medium-sized reservoirs such as: emergency response plan 28%; safety inspection 9%; QTVH 28%; installation of specialized hydrometeorological monitoring equipment 17%; installation of equipment and construction monitoring 10%; maintenance, repair and upgrading 27%; construction of downstream flood maps 5%.

Synchronizing solutions to ensure safety and efficiency for reservoirs and irrigation dams

In the context of climate change increasingly affecting Vietnam, the safety of reservoirs and irrigation dams is becoming a top priority in the country's water resources management. To ensure safety and efficiency, a synchronous solution is needed, including technological innovation, enhancing management capacity, real-time operation, and perfecting mechanisms and policies suitable for the new context.

Forum view.

At the forum, Director of the Institute of Water Resources Planning Do Van Thanh said that many dams and reservoirs in our country have been built for over 30 years, and have suffered damage, deterioration, and sedimentation. Many reservoirs have been converted to serve multiple purposes, requiring recalculation of tasks and design parameters.

Furthermore, some large reservoirs have been built with flood maps but their downstream flood discharge capacity has not been assessed; many small reservoirs do not have plans to ensure dam safety and prevent downstream floods. Flood discharge corridors downstream of some large reservoirs have been encroached upon, the flow is narrowed, and cannot ensure designed flood discharge, causing downstream flooding during flood discharge operations. Forecasting and warning of rain, floods, and water sources to reservoirs are still limited. In addition, the organization of the management and exploitation apparatus; the modernization of management, operation, and dam safety assurance are still limited...

To ensure the safe operation of dams, Mr. Hoang Van Thang - former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Large Dams and Water Resources Development said that, first of all, it is necessary to ensure that the project has an owner, along with regulations, standards and solutions to ensure financial security for dam management. Along with that, it is necessary to improve the capacity of management staff, focusing on monitoring capacity, analyzing measurement data to detect risks early. Dams need to be invested in, upgraded, and have improved flood discharge capacity to ensure safe operation in the new situation.

At the same time, there needs to be synchronous solutions for policy development and improvement. Review and improve the system of technical standards, regulations, and technical and economic norms for surveying, designing, constructing, and managing the operation of dams and reservoirs in accordance with the new situation. Promote the application of new technologies such as automatic monitoring systems and tools to support operational decision-making, etc.

In particular, improving information, warning, and forecasting capacity, building monitoring systems in upstream areas and reservoirs to support hydrological analysis. Building support tools, applying technical advances, and AI in decision-making in the safe operation of dams and reservoirs is necessary to proactively forecast and warn of water resources and propose appropriate flood cutting and discharge scenarios, ensuring safety for downstream areas.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/chi-co-28-ho-thuy-loi-duoc-lap-quy-trinh-van-hanh-post532269.html