On March 14, a working delegation from the Department of Irrigation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development inspected the actual water resources situation and preparations to respond to drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion in the freshwater area of Ca Mau province.
Proposal to support 241.7 billion VND to implement clean water supply project
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Head of the Irrigation Sub-Department (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau province) said that the drought and saltwater intrusion in the area had appeared earlier than the average of many years and at a severe level, seriously affecting production and people's lives. In the freshwater area of Tran Van Thoi district, 131 canals have collapsed and eroded with 550 points, with a total length of more than 14.5 km. The estimated damage is more than 19 billion VND.
Currently, the widespread subsidence in Tran Van Thoi district is more than 14.5 km with 550 points, estimated damage of more than 19 billion VND.
Up to now, the whole province of Ca Mau has more than 1,800 households in freshwater areas lacking and not being able to proactively source domestic water...
To overcome difficulties, ensure to serve essential needs and improve living conditions of people, Ca Mau province proposed that the Central Ministries and branches pay attention and support funding for the province to invest in a number of projects, collectively called "Urgent clean water supply project for rural areas of Ca Mau province", expected to benefit about 13,900 households, with an investment cost of 241.7 billion VND.
Proposal to bring fresh water from Hau River to Ca Mau
According to the zoning, the northern Ca Mau region has a total area of over 207,000 hectares, divided into 6 sub-regions. Of which, sub-regions II and III (also known as U Minh Ha sub-region, located in Minh HU and Tran Van Thoi district, with an area of about 90,000 hectares) cultivate freshwater; the rest is mostly freshwater-brackish ecosystem (rice-shrimp model), interspersed with some brackish farming areas.
Currently, Tran Van Thoi District (Ca Mau) has more than 80 canals and ditches that have dried up, even with exposed bottoms.
In the dry season, the water demand for agricultural production according to the farming models in the northern region of Ca Mau is about 200 million m3 . Of which, the region is capable of self-supplying from the amount of water stored in canals, ditches and on the fields of the production area of about 151 million m3 , the amount of water shortage that needs to be supplemented is about 49 million m3 .
From there, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau proposed to build and complete an irrigation system to bring fresh water from the Hau River to Ca Mau. The fresh water will be brought through a pumping station system, and the fresh water supply will be carried out at the end of December of the previous year and the beginning of January of the following year for the U Minh Ha region (sub-regions II and III of northern Ca Mau in the areas of HU Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts). Fresh water will mainly be pumped into the canal system, because when the second crop is produced, the rainwater source on the canals has gradually decreased. If the first fresh water supply solves the water source for the dry season, the second fresh water supply will take place from March to April.
Along with that, the Cai Lon - Cai Be irrigation system connecting with the Quan Lo - Phung Hiep project will be completed, including the repair of Tac Thu boat lock and sluices on National Highway 1A. The goal is to slow down salinity (slow down the salinity intrusion process - PV), supplement fresh water to Ca Mau, serve agricultural production and prevent forest fires in the dry season.
In the immediate future, the Department of Irrigation of Ca Mau province has proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development soon start investing in the completion of the Tac Thu boat lock and a number of sluices (costing about 741 billion VND) to regulate the water intake from the Cai Lon - Cai Be irrigation system and the Quan Lo - Phung Hiep canal to supply the freshwater area. "In addition to serving production, this water intake also helps the canal system in the fields not to dry up and limit subsidence," said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung.
Regarding the above proposal, Mr. Nguyen Hong Khanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Irrigation, said that the above proposal has been studied by scientific agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other independent agencies. And there needs to be a thorough evaluation study before implementation.
According to Mr. Khanh, it is necessary to determine that water shortages in Ca Mau, as well as the Mekong Delta, are frequent. However, it is also necessary to consider the effectiveness of the proposed solution, such as how much value 1 m3 of water from the Hau River to Ca Mau through an electric pump is compared to on-site solutions and small water storage projects.
"We know that Ca Mau has approved a project to support people to invest in small-scale water storage projects to serve domestic water needs. We find the solution extremely effective. Bringing water from the Hau River to Ca Mau is a big problem, requiring comprehensive research to come up with a very suitable solution," said Mr. Nguyen Hong Khanh.
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