Ba Ria – Vung Tau reservoirs face dead water levels
Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) - Due to the
prolonged dry season, water levels at many reservoirs in the southern province
of Ba Ria – Vung Tau are at or lower than dead water levels.
According to the Irrigation Work Management
Centre of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development, crops have withered in many areas in the province because of
water shortages.
The department has taken measures to
accumulate water for the summer-autumn rice crop and to reduce losses
caused by dry weather and lack of water.
According to figures released by irrigation
agencies, due to the prolonged drought, rainfall in areas with reservoirs
has been very low.
Fifteen reservoirs under the centre’s management
have total capacity of nearly 309 million cubic metres, but the present water
volume in those reservoirs is at only 37 million cubic metres, 11.9 percent of their
designed capacity.
This figure is 82 percent of the water
reserve stored by the facilities in the same period last year.
Of the 15 reservoirs, water levels at six
of them are at or under dead water levels.
Water levels at Song Ray River Reservoir, the
main source of water supply for Ba Ria – Vung Tau residents, is also at
a dead level, with only 14 million cubic metres of water.
Residents have been instructed to avoid
wasteful use of water and to water crops wisely, while farmers in
mountainous areas have been told not to plant trees at inappropriate times
in an aim to limit poor crops caused by lack of water. Farmers have also been
asked to delay planting the summer-autumn rice crop.
Duong Thi Huong, deputy chief of water
management at the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Irrigation Work Management Centre,
said due to unfavourable weather and a prolonged sunny period, water
levels in reservoirs had dropped significantly this year.
To reserve enough water for agricultural
production, local authorities should monitor weather conditions, water
resources, weather forecasts, and levels of water in reservoirs,
canals and rivers.
Huong said district and other
relevant authorities must repair or upgrade irrigation works and
dredge canals and dykes and pumping stations to facilitate
irrigation and better use of water resources./.