The Mekong Dam Monitoring (MDM) project said: Analyzing satellite images, it was found that the water level at Nuozhadu Dam in late October 2023 was only below 50% of the reservoir capacity. This is the largest dam in the chain of 11 hydropower dams on the Mekong River in China. This will also have a chain effect on the entire chain of dams.
Noa Trat Do Hydropower Dam has a record low water level, the risk of drought and salinity in the Mekong Delta is more severe.
In 2022, the water storage in the dam's reservoir reached 75%, in 2021 it was 76% and in 2020 it was 97%. The reason is the El Nino phenomenon causing drought and low rainfall.
Low water storage has resulted in insignificant dam operations. Last week (November 20-26), the dam system on the Mekong River only released about 227 million cubic meters of water.
MSc. Nguyen Huu Thien, an expert on Mekong Delta ecology, said: The El Nino phenomenon causes little rain across the entire Mekong River basin. This is the reason why the water levels of hydroelectric dams are low. Currently, the Mekong Delta is entering the dry season, and the signs of El Nino will be clearer in the coming months. With such low water levels in the reservoirs, by the middle of the dry season, around February and March, the water levels may be very low. Therefore, from March onwards, the drought and salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta may be severe. Of particular concern is the Ca Mau Peninsula, where drought and salinity may be severe from February until the end of the dry season in 2024.
According to the Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning (SIWRP), the water level in the Mekong River is on a downward trend. At Tan Chau station on the Tien River on November 24, it reached 2.2m, equivalent to 2022 and 0.24m lower than the average of many years. At Chau Doc station on the Hau River, it was 2.24m, 0.11m higher than 2022 and equivalent to the average of many years. This year's main flood is low and is receding rapidly. This is quite favorable for sowing winter-spring rice. However, high tides in late 2023 will remain high, causing the risk of flooding in low-lying and coastal areas.
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