CUU LONG DELTA — Provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are likely to experience severe drought this dry season, especially between the end of March and the middle of April, the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research has forecast.
At peak drought times, the Mekong River will have a flow capacity of 600cu.m per second, down by 200cu.m per second against the annual average level, causing severe shortages of fresh water for farming activities.
The region will also suffer increased salinity intrusion, the institute said.
The salination of inland water bodies via river mouths in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta will occur earlier this year compared to the last dry season as water levels in the region’s rivers are falling rapidly, it said.
In An Giang, Kien Giang and Dong Thap provinces, water levels in upstream areas are 0.4-0.5 meters lower than the same period last year and have continued to decline.
The deeper encroachment of salinity will affect farming throughout the region, weather bureaus in the delta have warned.
In Tien Giang Province, for instance, salt water intrusion of the Tien River is estimated at 45km inland at the end of March and early April.
Pham Tan Dung, deputy head of Tien Giang Province’s Sub-department of Irrigation and Flood – Storm Prevention and Control, said as of mid January, the salt content in water at river mouths in Tien Giang Province was still lower than the same period last year.
"But by the end of this month, it could get higher," Dung said.
The salt content at the Tien River estuary could reach two grammes per litre at the end of March, according to the Tien Giang Province Hydro-Meteorological Bureau.
In the U Minh Thuong area in Kien Giang Province, salt water has entered most canals due to drought.
Phan Hoai Bao, a farmer in the province’s An Bien District, said his three ha of rice are 50 days old and have not received a single drop of rain.
"I have tried to use fresh water from ponds and underground to irrigate 3ha of rice, but I could not save my rice," Bao said.
Ten thousands of ha of rice in An Bien District are facing water shortages.
Mitigation measures
The delta provinces have implemented several measures to mitigate the impact of droughts and salt water intrusion on their rice crops.
In An Giang Province, local authorities have dredged 276 canals to secure irrigation for 80,800ha of the 2009-10 winter-spring rice crop.
Kien Giang Province, meanwhile is completing a coastal dyke from An Minh District to An Bien District to prevent salt water from entering rice fields.
Cao Van Nam, head of Kien Giang’s sub-department of Irrigation, said Kien Giang had consolidated broken dyke sections along the sea coast and closed all sluice gates to prevent salt water entering rice fields since last October.
The Cultivation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has estimated that salt water intrusion would affect about 800,000ha of rice in the Delta in March. — VNS
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