The People's Committee of Dong Nai Province has called on relevant agencies and the public to take proactive measures to ward off a freshwater shortage as drought and saltwater intrusion in rivers cause an increasing shortage.
The People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province has called on relevant agencies and the public to take proactive measures to ward off a freshwater shortage as drought and saltwater intrusion in rivers cause an increasing shortage.
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| Tri An Reservoir. — VNA/VNS Photo |
It instructed authorities around the province to keep a close eye on the weather and water bodies to estimate availability for production and domestic needs.
They also need to find ways to prevent saltwater intrusion, it said.
Based on the water availability in their localities, they should switch crops and restructure agriculture and comply with relevant agencies’ recommendations to mitigate possible damages caused by drought and saltwater intrusion, it said.
It wanted them to take the initiative to adopt necessary methods to store water, strengthen forecasts of water levels in reservoirs and mobilise funds to build and upgrade freshwater supply systems.
The province's Environmental Protection Sub-department said it would check the quality of water in the four main aquaculture regions to provide information and warnings, if required, to local authorities and farmers to reduce losses.
The province has 32,000 hectares of aquaculture farms.
The water storage in irrigation reservoirs in Dong Nai is down to 63.8 per cent of capacity. Water levels in rivers and streams are also low, at less than 72 per cent of their levels a year ago. The salinity rate is around 5.5 grammes per litre, according to the People’s Committee.
According to the province’s Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, rainfall will be scant from March to June and temperatures until June will be 0.5-1.5 degrees Celsius higher than normal.
HCM City has not yet been affected by saltwater intrusion.
Tri An Reservoir in Dong Nai Province will discharge water to clear salinity in rivers. It stores a large volume of water and responds to drought and saltwater intrusion in the lower sections.
(Source:VNS)
