Many pumping stations stopped operating due to low water levels.
These days in Cat Van commune (Thanh Chuong), farmers are actively preparing the land for spring rice planting. Mr. Tran Van Binh is building a dike for his field and shares: The water level of Lam River is low so the pumping station cannot operate, directly affecting the progress of preparing the land for spring rice planting.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Quan - Head of Cat Van Commune Pumping Station shared: According to the plan, from January 10, Ban Ve Hydropower Plant has discharged water, however, the water level on Lam River is too low, so the pumping system including 3 pumps with a capacity of 3,300 m3 /hour must stop pumping. The station is implementing a plan to dredge the suction tank and connect the hose for pumping.
Another difficulty is that the machinery is outdated and broken. It is possible to fix it by connecting the pump hose, but it will be difficult to pump because the suction of the machine is weak. The Cat Van commune pumping station provides irrigation water for over 136 hectares of rice, and is currently in the land preparation stage. People are mainly using rainwater from the past few days to prepare the land and nourish the seedlings, so the risk of water shortage for the spring crop is real.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Director of Thanh Chuong Irrigation One Member Limited Liability Company said: The unit manages 9 pumping stations in Thanh Chuong district, but currently 5 pumping stations are not operating. For example, Cat Van pumping station serves irrigation for Cat Van commune with a spring crop area of 136 hectares. However, the water level on Ca River at Cat Van pumping station is measured at +5.80m, so currently the generators are still not operating.
Rang pumping station cluster (including Rang pumping station, Thanh Hung 1 pumping station and Thanh Hung 2 pumping station) serves irrigation for Dai Dong and Thuan Son communes (Do Luong) with an area of 575 hectares in the winter-spring crop. The water level on the Ca River at Rang pumping station is measured at +4.30m. Currently, only 2 generators of Thanh Hung 1 station are still operating with a flow rate of about 60%, while Rang pumping station and Thanh Hung 2 pumping station are still unable to operate.
Or Dong Van pumping station irrigates Dong Van commune and Thanh Chuong town with an area of 290 hectares for the winter-spring crop. The water level on Ca river at Ru Nguoc pumping station is measured at +3.60m, currently, the generators are still unable to operate.
Early solution to regulate production water
Mr. Le Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee said: This spring crop, the district planted over 8,500 hectares, of which over 2,000 hectares depend on water sources along Lam River. Faced with the difficult situation of water sources, the district is directing localities and irrigation units to be on duty 24/24 hours when the Lam River water level rises, deploying pumping at full capacity to serve spring rice production.
At the same time, localities are required to make full use of the rainwater in recent days to nourish rice seedlings, prepare soil, and promote water conservation among people. In the long term, it is necessary to upgrade the pumping station system, because most of the pumping stations in Thanh Chuong have degraded.
Faced with the above situation, on January 5, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a meeting between Ban Ve Hydropower Company, Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company, Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company, People's Committees of Thanh Chuong and Do Luong districts and related departments and units to agree on a plan to regulate water in hydropower reservoirs.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development requested the People's Committee of Nghe An province to issue a document requesting Ban Ve Hydropower Company, Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company, Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company to operate and regulate water in Ban Ve, Khe Bo, and Chi Khe Hydropower reservoirs and discharge water downstream from January 10 to February 15, specifically:
During the period from January 10 to January 14 and from January 26 to January 30: Every day, Ban Ve Lake operates to ensure the average total discharge flow is not less than 150.0 m 3 /s. During the period from January 15 to January 25 and from January 31 to February 15: Every day, Ban Ve Lake operates to ensure the average total discharge flow is not less than 65.0 m 3 /s.
However, through checking and capturing information, the water level on Lam River observed at Do Luong bara at 10:00 a.m. on January 12 reached an elevation of +11.0m compared to the spillway threshold elevation of Do Luong bara dam of +10.5m. The amount of water on Lam River overflowing through Do Luong bara downstream is insignificant.
To ensure timely water supply for spring irrigation, on January 12, Thanh Chuong Irrigation One Member Co., Ltd. reported "on the low river water level affecting the irrigation pumping for the spring crop in 2024".
The unit has recommendations and proposals to the relevant sector that if water is discharged according to the current plan, the pumping stations in Thanh Chuong district managed by the company and the locality will still not be able to operate, causing water waste and inefficiency. For the pumping stations to operate, the water level of Lam River needs to rise by at least about 40cm compared to the current river water level at the pumping stations.
To ensure irrigation pumping for localities in time for the crop schedule according to the plan, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development advised the People's Committee of Nghe An province to direct upstream hydropower plants to increase discharge flow larger than the plan implemented in Document No. 191/UBND-NN dated January 9, 2024 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province.
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