Important role in cutting and reducing floods downstream

Actively regulating, lowering and maintaining low reservoir water levels, ensuring a regular flood prevention capacity of 112 million m3, Trung Son Hydropower Reservoir plays an important role in cutting and reducing floods downstream during the rainy and stormy season.

Principle model of hydroelectric reservoir operation to reduce floods.

Trung Son Hydropower Reservoir has a catchment area of ​​about 14,660 km2, of which the catchment area in Vietnam is about 8,139 km2 and in Laos is 6,521 km2. The reservoir has a total capacity of 348.5 million m3, with a regular flood prevention capacity of 112 million m3. Currently, the plant is operating according to the Inter-reservoir Operation Process in the Ma River Basin approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 214/QD-TTg dated February 13, 2018. The operation of the reservoir must follow the principles of ensuring construction safety, flood safety for downstream areas as well as minimum flow on the river, water use demand in downstream areas and power generation efficiency.

A representative of Trung Son Hydropower Company Limited said that at the end of the dry season and the beginning of the flood season in 2024, Trung Son Hydropower Plant proactively regulated the reservoir water level through generating electricity from generators, maintaining the reservoir water level lower than the normal water level (160m) and completely lowering the water level to the pre-flood level (150m) from July 15. Complying with the inter-reservoir operation process on the Ma River basin, the plant ensures to always maintain a regular flood prevention capacity of 112 million m3 (capacity from the 150m - 160m elevation), thereby demonstrating the important role of Trung Son Hydropower Reservoir in preventing, cutting and reducing floods for downstream areas during the rainy and stormy season.

To ensure safe and efficient operation of the plant, Trung Son Hydropower Company Limited always proactively monitors rainfall in the reservoir basin, hydrological situation through the North Central Hydrometeorological Station, the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting and the General Department of Hydrometeorology to grasp and forecast water flow, comply with the instructions of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue and Civil Defense of Thanh Hoa province and downstream districts according to regulations in implementing flood discharge to ensure safety for the project and downstream area of ​​the plant.

It is known that hydropower plants with reservoirs are often designed and operated for multiple purposes in exploiting water resources. The main objectives include supplying water to downstream areas, preventing floods and generating electricity. During operation, hydropower plants have demonstrated their role in reducing floods and reducing floods in downstream areas through the regular use of the reservoir's flood prevention capacity and the ability to regulate water flow through the plant's generators and sluice gates.

In the inter-reservoir operation process, it is also stipulated that before a flood occurs, the reservoirs of hydropower plants must always lower the water level to receive floods during the rainy and stormy season, reserving a part of the reservoir capacity for regular flood prevention. Therefore, when there is a storm, continuous heavy rain, and floods, all or part of the flood water will be stored in the reservoirs of hydropower plants, thereby contributing to cutting and reducing floods downstream.

Put into operation in 2017, Trung Son Hydropower Plant has always strictly complied with the inter-reservoir operation process in the Ma River basin; at the same time, researched and applied science and technology to hydrometeorological monitoring and forecasting... to have accurate forecasts and advice, provide timely and accurate information and strictly implement the reservoir operation orders of the Head of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue and Civil Defense of Thanh Hoa province, Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee during the rainy and stormy season.

Article and photos: Trung Sinh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/thuy-dien-trung-son-vai-tro-quan-trong-nbsp-trong-cat-giam-lu-cho-ha-du-221570.htm