HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Provinces in the Mekong Delta have said they havetaken effective measures to mitigate saltwater intrusion impacts in the ongoingdry season.

This has helped ensure fresh water for agriculture production and household usein coastal areas.

The delta, which comprises 12 provinces and Can Tho City, is normally affectedby saltwater intrusion from the sea during the dry season which lasts fromDecember to April.

To mitigate the impact of saltwater intrusion, local authorities in the deltahave proactively implemented saltwater prevention projects and properlyoperated irrigation works at the beginning of the dry season.

These measures have helped the delta, the country’s largest producer of rice,fruit and seafood, to protect the 2021 – 22 winter-spring rice crop and othercrops from the impacts of saltwater intrusion, local authorities said.

Le Huu Toan, deputy director of Kien Giang province’s Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, said: “The province has not recorded any agriculturalproduction damage caused by saltwater intrusion so far this year.”

The province’s An Minh, An Bien, Kien Luong and Chau Thanh districts, which arenormally hardest hit by saltwater intrusion, had built or upgraded a total of43 saltwater prevention sluices to protect their crops and livestock.

Stable and sufficient supply had been maintained for water treatment plants andsupply stations in the province, he said.

The province’s Irrigation Sub-department had effectively operated more than 100sluices to prevent saltwater intrusion and store water for agriculturalproduction, he added.

It closed the Cai Lon – Cai Be irrigation system, the delta’s largest one, atthe end of last month in order to secure fresh water for surroundinglocalities.

With saltwater expected to encroach deep into rivers and canals in the provincebetween now and the middle of March, the peak dry season period, Kien Giang,the delta’s largest rice grower, has advocated that farmers regularly checkembankments and sluices to prevent salination of rice fields.

Locals have also been advised to check water salinity before pumping it intorice fields and to use fresh water efficiently.

Less severe

Saltwater intrusion in the delta is forecast to be less severe than lastseason.

In coastal areas, water with a salinity content of four grams per litre isestimated to enter 50-65 kilometres deep into river mouths in February andMarch, 15-25 kilometres less than the same period last year.

Most crops can only tolerate water with a salinity rate of less than one gramper litre.

In Tien Giang province, the delta’s largest fruit grower, salt water hasentered 53 km deep into the Tien River, a tributary of the Mekong River.

The building of a dam on the Nguyen Tan Thanh Canal in Tien Giang has preventedsaltwater intrusion, protected agricultural production and secured fresh waterfor household use in Tien Giang and Long An provinces, local officials said.

The Tien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has beenimplementing various projects to prevent drought and saltwater intrusion and tosecure irrigation water for 83,000ha of fruits, 49,000ha of rice and 26,000haof vegetables.

Pham Van Trong, deputy chairman of the Tien Giang People’s Committee, said theprovince was effectively operating irrigation works to serve agricultureproduction and was prepared to take fresh water from wells to supply saltwateraffected areas.

In Soc Trang province, farmers in Long Phu and Tran De districts have harvestedall 40,000ha of the 2021-22 winter-spring rice without being affected bysaltwater intrusion.

Farmers in the province’s saltwater prone areas are also getting sufficientirrigation water for their crops because of the effective operation ofsaltwater prevention projects, local reports said.

Nguyen Thi Thuy of Tran De district said her family grew watermelon during thisseason and would harvest the fruit soon.

“This year we have got enough irrigation water, so my family’s watermelon crophas grown well,” she said.

Pham Tan Dao, head of the province’s Irrigation Sub-department, said farmershad been instructed to take proactive measures to avoid saltwater intrusionthat would affect their crops.

The sub-department was working with localities to operate saltwater preventionsluices properly in order to help farmers mitigate the impacts of saltwaterintrusion, he said.

It was also working with the province’s Centre for Hydro-MeteorologyForecasting to monitor water salinity and disseminate results on mass media andvia email and SMS to the public so they could take in irrigation water when itssalinity rate is low, he said./.