The Party is concerned about the "lifeblood" of people in drought-stricken areas. Part 2:

According to the provincial authorities, with the medium and small irrigation works built in Ham Thuan Nam district, the designed irrigation capacity is more than 5,000 hectares. However, in reality, it only meets the irrigation needs of about 26% of the annual crop land area. If the agricultural production area is expanded as well as meeting the needs of industrial development, services and daily life... then the water flow of the Ka Pet Lake project is the desire of the local government and people.

Thirsty…

According to the assessment of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in recent years, the shortage of water for production and daily life has been and continues to occur on a large scale, greatly affecting the lives of people in the province. Especially in some mountainous and highland areas where many ethnic minorities of Ham Thuan Nam district live. Not only is there great economic loss due to dead crops, reduced productivity, and abandoned production land, but in daily life, people also struggle to find water sources for daily life.

Tan Lap commune reservoir, Ham Thuan Nam district, dried up at the peak of the dry season.

Most recently in 2020, Binh Thuan province declared a state of emergency due to a level 2 drought in the area. The entire province had to cut nearly 14,000 hectares of winter-spring crop area and more than 30,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice that could not be produced, waiting for rain, and more than 30,000 households lacked water for daily life. Many perennial crop areas in Ham Thuan Nam and Ham Tan districts... did not have irrigation water sources. Thousands of hectares of dragon fruit were drought-stricken, many gardens withered due to lack of water for a long time, causing severe damage to local farmers. Groundwater resources were severely depleted. Most of the drilled and dug wells were dry, many areas had no water or were saline.

Song Mong Lake is dry in the dry season.

Not only that, domestic water was also seriously lacking, especially in Ham Thuan Nam and Ham Tan areas. That year, the whole province had 38 communes, wards and towns lacking local domestic water. More than 26,000 families with over 97,000 people in rural areas lacked domestic water... Faced with the above situation, the province requested relevant departments and localities to urgently implement response solutions to limit damage to production and people's lives; mobilize all forces to transport domestic water, not to let people lack drinking water due to drought. In addition to promoting propaganda about drought developments so that people can proactively store and use water economically, Binh Thuan province has also urgently deployed solutions to lead, store and supply water, especially to pull water pipes from reservoirs to supplement water for water plants and to residential areas lacking domestic water. In the immediate future, to solve the water shortage problem, localities have organized water transport to supply people in severely affected areas.

In fact, in recent years, due to extreme weather conditions under the impact of climate change, droughts have been prolonged and frequent, especially in the highland communes of Ham Thuan Nam district. It is worth mentioning that for many years, droughts have occurred with increasing severity, directly affecting people's lives, social security and local economic development. Meanwhile, most of the irrigation works in the area are small works, dams that rely only on the basic flow without the ability to regulate, so they cannot ensure water sources for production, daily life and economic development.

Therefore, the problem is to ensure water resources. This is the key and most difficult factor for the southern region of the province in general and Ham Thuan Nam district in particular over the past many years, a vital factor that determines stable and sustainable development in the present as well as in the future.

Perspective of Ka Pet Reservoir.

Ka Pet Lake – the “lifeblood” of the future

In the context of climate change causing droughts to become increasingly complex and severe, seriously affecting people's lives, the solution of investing in the construction of large-capacity reservoirs will contribute significantly to overcoming the drought situation in Ham Thuan Nam district and the southern region of Binh Thuan. On the other hand, according to the Binh Thuan Irrigation Development Plan for the period 2011 - 2020 with a vision to 2030, it is forecasted that the southern region of Binh Thuan province will lack 153 million m3 (accounting for 55% of the whole province), of which the Ca Ty River basin - Ka Pet lake lacks 111.7 million m3, accounting for 73% of the total shortage in the southern region of Binh Thuan. Thus, to meet the water needs for agricultural production and other economic sectors, the investment in the construction of Ka Pet reservoir in Ham Thuan Nam district is very necessary and urgent.

Ka Pet Reservoir has a capacity of more than 51 million m3.

Sharing about the importance of the project, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of the province, Duong Van An, said: The Ka Pet Reservoir Project is a new investment and construction project of national importance, approved by the National Assembly in the 8th session of the 14th National Assembly (Resolution No. 93). The project had an investment preparation period from 2016 to 2019 before the National Assembly decided on the investment policy. This is the expectation and great joy of the Party Committee, government and people of Binh Thuan province. The investment objective of the project has been approved by the National Assembly in the investment policy, which is to provide irrigation water for agricultural production; supply raw water for industrial parks and people's daily life; prevent and control floods and improve the environment, regulate water for the downstream area of ​​Ham Thuan Nam and Binh Thuan province.

The project includes a reservoir, headworks and a system of canals in My Thanh and Ham Can communes, Ham Thuan Nam district. Upon completion, the project will directly irrigate over 7,000 hectares, including My Thanh and Ham Can irrigation areas; supplement water from the Linh - Cam Hang River canal; supply water to expand the irrigation area of ​​Song Mong reservoir; provide raw water for Ham Kiem II Industrial Park and domestic water for about 120,000 people in Ham Thuan Nam district and Phan Thiet city. "In the context of increasingly severe climate change, frequent droughts, and scarce water resources seriously affecting people's lives, the investment in the construction of Ka Pet reservoir with a capacity of over 51 million m3 will make an important contribution to overcoming drought and developing the socio-economy for Ham Thuan Nam district and the southern region of Binh Thuan," added Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Duong Van An.

It can be affirmed that the Ka Pet Reservoir Project is in line with the people's thoughts, aspirations and wishes regarding water for production and daily life. Because of its importance and necessity, for many years now, the Ka Pet Reservoir Project has received great attention from all levels of government, leaders of Binh Thuan province, the National Assembly Delegation of the 14th and 15th terms, and the government and people of Ham Thuan Nam district...

Ka Pet Lake will provide irrigation water for 7,762 hectares, including My Thanh area, Ham Can dam area, Song Linh - Cam Hang area, Ba Bau lake area, Song Mong area; provide raw water for Ham Kiem II Industrial Park about 2.63 million m3/year, serving domestic water for about 120,000 people. At the same time, Ka Pet Lake will regulate, reduce floods, improve the environment and develop tourism by transferring water from La Nga 3 Lake (when the lake is built) to Ca Ty river basin with the largest flow of about 8.30 m3/s to provide irrigation water for agriculture, for daily life, industry, tourism - services and regulate water for the downstream area including Ham Thuan Nam district and Phan Thiet city...

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/dang-lo-mach-song-cho-nguoi-dan-vung-han-bai-2-109115.html