Actively operate and regulate Cua Dat lake water

We visited the Cua Dat Lake project (Thuong Xuan) on the first day of the new year 2025 - the time when officers and workers of the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 3 were implementing solutions to prioritize water resources for agricultural production.

Engineers and workers of the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 3 operate at Cua Dat Lake.

Here, Mr. Le Ba Huan, in charge of the Cua Dat Irrigation Project Exploitation Branch (under the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 3 - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said: On January 13, 2025, the water level of Cua Dat Lake reached +105.51m, 1.5m higher than the same period in 2024. Before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2025, the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 3 (assigned to manage and exploit the Cua Dat reservoir headworks) has been arranging teams of officers and workers to regularly patrol, take turns on duty to monitor the progress of the project; proactively review, inspect and repair, maintain construction items and equipment, machinery to ensure Cua Dat Lake operates safely according to design. Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 3 has coordinated with water users to serve planting, irrigation, care and drought prevention for more than 80,000 hectares of spring rice crop in 2025.

Cua Dat reservoir irrigation project is a large project to exploit Chu river water resources to serve socio-economic development in the province. The reservoir has a basin area of ​​5,938km2, of which 593km2 is in Thanh Hoa. The total capacity of the reservoir is 1.45 billion m3 of water. The main dam is a rockfill dam with concrete face, dam crest elevation +121.30m, height 118.75m. The spillway has a design flow of P0.1% = 8,200m3/s; 3 auxiliary dams are earth dams (Doc Cay, Hon Can, Ban Trac); water intake sluices (Cua Dat and Doc Cay tunnels); the main canal is 16.276km long.

At present, Cua Dat Lake is the second largest in the country (after Dau Tieng Lake), with the task of reducing floods with a frequency of 0.6%, ensuring that the water level in Xuan Khanh does not exceed the elevation of +13.71m (historic flood in 1962). Creating a stable source of irrigation water for 86,862 hectares of cultivated land. Providing water for industry and daily life with a flow of 7,715m3/s. Combining power generation with an installed capacity of about 97MW (from 2017, it is 112 MW due to the addition of Doc Cay 15MW hydropower plant). Supplementing water in the dry season for downstream to push back salinity and improve the ecological environment.

This is a project in the list of important projects related to national security according to Decision No. 1502/QD-TTg dated December 2, 2024 and in the list of dams and reservoirs of special importance according to Decision No. 124/QD-TTg dated January 24, 2019 of the Prime Minister. The project's beneficiary area is located in 11 districts, towns and cities of Thanh Hoa province, with a total natural area of ​​about 365,182 hectares. This is the largest concentrated economic area in Thanh Hoa province with Nghi Son and Muc Son Industrial Parks; large food production areas such as the South Chu River, North Chu River, South Ma River...

Guiding us to visit Cua Dat Lake, Mr. Hoang Ngoc Canh, Head of the Planning - Technical Team, Cua Dat Irrigation Exploitation Branch shared: Based on the existing water resources of Cua Dat Lake and the upstream reservoirs of Cua Dat, which are Hua Na Hydropower Reservoir (Nghe An) and Nam Sam 3 Reservoir (Laos) as well as forecasts and warnings from the authorities, the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 3 has proactively coordinated with the Hua Na Hydropower Reservoir Management Unit, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thanh Hoa and the water users of Cua Dat Lake (Song Chu One Member Co., Ltd., Nam Song Ma One Member Co., Ltd., Cua Dat and Doc Cay Hydropower Plants) to calculate, develop and agree on an operation plan, regulate and use water resources reasonably at each time to serve production and people's lives. During the operation and water regulation process, units must comply with the inter-reservoir operation process in the Ma River basin issued together with Decision No. 214/QD-TTg dated February 13, 2028 of the Prime Minister and directive documents of competent authorities.

In mid-January 2025, the Cua Dat reservoir irrigation project provided enough water for farmers to cultivate more than 80,000 hectares of spring rice in 2025 in the districts irrigated by the Bai Thuong irrigation system and the Nam Song Ma irrigation system; providing water for industrial production, aquaculture and people's daily life.

Article and photos: Thu Hoa

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/chu-dong-van-hanh-dieu-tiet-nuoc-ho-cua-dat-237326.htm