Spillway of Bap Cai Lake broken, danger lurking for residents

Many irrigation works in Bap Cai Lake are damaged and degraded.

Bap Cai Lake has an area of ​​about 12 hectares. In addition to storing water for production and aquaculture, the lake's spillway system also drains water for the downstream area of ​​Xa Huong Lake. The lake was previously managed by Tam Dao Farm, but is now managed by the People's Committee of Gia Khanh town, Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province.

According to local people, the dam and the lake's bottom discharge sluice were built in 1972. The project has deteriorated and was renovated and upgraded in 2008.

During the process of use, due to unusual weather changes and rapid urbanization, a large amount of water has been concentrated in the lake, overloading the spillway and bottom drain of the lake. At the same time, it has caused landslides in residential land and farmland of some households downstream of the spillway, forcing them to file petitions many times since 2013.

“Up to now, after more than 50 years of operation and exploitation, many construction items of Bap Cai Lake have degraded. On the other hand, when building the bottom discharge culvert of Bap Cai Lake, people did not design and build a hard drainage canal, so when discharging floodwater, it eroded the canal bed and caused landslides, seriously affecting households living on both banks downstream of the project.” - Mr. Do Van Cuong (residing in Tam Quang residential group, Gia Khanh town) reflected.

The embankment of Bap Cai Lake has been broken and damaged for many years and has not been repaired. Photo: Luong Giang

Observations at the scene showed that the entire embankment of Bap Cai Lake had been broken into many large and small pieces stacked on top of each other. The back of the lake's bottom discharge culvert had also eroded a meter deep into the dam bank, creating a frog's jaw that posed a risk of dam bank failure. The spillway had also eroded about 6 meters, swirling deep into the dam bank...

Need to fix soon to ensure safety for residents

According to Mr. Do Van Cuong, the irrigation works at Bap Cai Lake have been damaged by landslides, which is also the cause of serious landslides of residential land and trees of the people, with many potential risks of dam failure, not ensuring safety for residents.

“In particular, during the rainy season from May 22 to 31, 2022, the Gia Khanh Town People's Committee had to evacuate the elderly and children to other places to ensure safety. Up to now, every time the rainy season comes, local residents are worried and uneasy about the risk of floods and landslides,” said Mr. Do Van Cuong.

By April 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vinh Phuc had issued a document on inspecting and resolving petitions of people in Gia Khanh town, Binh Xuyen district.

Accordingly, to ensure the safety of people's lives and property in the upcoming rainy and stormy season, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development requests the People's Committee of Binh Xuyen district to inspect and review the necessity of investment in repairs and balance the district's budget to handle the above-mentioned landslide situation. In case it exceeds the district's capital balance capacity, it is recommended to report in writing to the Provincial People's Committee. In the immediate future, there are warning measures such as: placing danger warning signs, stretching ropes around the landslide location, and broadcasting propaganda to let people know.

On September 27, 2024, Binh Xuyen District People's Committee issued Document No. 3160/UBND-TCKH on agreeing to the policy of supporting capital for Gia Khanh town to overcome the landslide incident of the water regulation culvert at Bap Cai Lake.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/vinh-phuc-tran-xa-lu-ho-bap-cai-vo-nat-nguy-hiem-rinh-rap-cu-dan.html