Salinity increased suddenly, Ben Tre gardeners could not react in time

'For the past week, my family has had to use salt water. Because we didn't have time to prepare, household items got rusty, and now I don't even dare to wash my car,' a resident complained.

Mr. Tran Long Son - residing in Giao Long commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre - took advantage of the days when the salinity decreased to wash his green-skin pomelo garden - Photo: MAU TRUONG

The salinity of 10 grams/liter suddenly appeared at Giao Hoa estuary (Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province), about 40km from Cua Dai river mouth (a branch of Tien river), causing many gardeners to be caught off guard, and the tap water people used suddenly became salty.

On December 30, Mr. Huynh Ngoc Quang (residing in Long Hoi hamlet, Giao Long commune) said that his family is using tap water provided by Chau Thanh Domestic Water Supply Joint Stock Company.

"After monitoring the saltwater intrusion, it will take about a month for this area to be affected, but in reality, for about a week now, my family has had to use saltwater. Because we did not have time to prepare, household items are rusted, and now I don't even dare to wash my car," said Mr. Quang.

According to Mr. Tran Van Quyt - Head of Long Hoi Hamlet (Giao Long Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre Province), the sudden rise of saltwater over the past few days has affected 360 households in the hamlet. Most of the people use tap water from a factory that takes raw water from Giao Hoa estuary, so the salinity is very high.

"According to the announcement from the professional agencies, the highest salinity measured at Giao Hoa estuary is nearly 10 grams/liter. In addition to the tap water being contaminated with salt, many gardeners are also unable to cope," said Mr. Quyt.

About 100 meters from Mr. Quang's house, on December 30, Mr. Tran Long Son was taking advantage of the reduced salinity to wash his family's grapefruit garden of more than 3,000 ^square meters. He was worried that in the coming days, the salinity would increase while the grapefruit garden was covered in mold and mildew and there would be no more water to wash.

"The grapefruit garden has not yet recovered from the salinity of previous years, but now the salt water has come again. This year, the salt water came about a month earlier than many previous years, so we have not had time to store water," said Mr. Son.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Quoc - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chau Thanh district (Ben Tre province) - also confirmed that this year, salinity increased and came 1 month earlier than previous years.

"Saline intrusion this year has increased and penetrated abnormally deep. We have alerted relevant units to operate saline prevention sluices, and at the same time, we have promoted the construction of small dams in garden ditches to prevent and combat salinity. As for water companies, they will also choose the time when salinity decreases to get raw water," said Mr. Quoc.

Mr. Huynh Ngoc Quang (residing in Long Hoi hamlet, Giao Long commune) said his family is using salty tap water - Photo: MAU TRUONG

Mr. Tran Long Son - residing in Giao Long commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre - is worried about his family's grapefruit garden because in recent days, salt water has encroached on the garden ditch - Photo: MAU TRUONG

Due to lack of fresh water from upstream

Mr. Dang Hoang Lam - Director of Ben Tre Hydrometeorological Station - said that according to the assessment, the saltwater intrusion last week had unusual developments, the salinity increased rapidly on Cua Dai River mainly due to the lack of fresh water from upstream, causing saltwater from the sea to encroach deep inland.

According to the forecast of the Ben Tre Province Hydrometeorological Station, the salinity intrusion on the main rivers will continue to increase until December 30, then decrease.

This unit also recommended that localities located 48km to 63km from the river mouth or less regularly monitor and check salinity to operate the sluice properly.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/man-tang-nhanh-bat-ngo-nha-vuon-ben-tre-khong-kip-tro-tay-20241230164209505.htm