The Mekong Delta faces a possible shortage of freshwater for next year’s
rice crops due to drought and a worsening of saltwater intrusion in the
coming dry season, according to the Southern Centre for
Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Its prediction is based on
higher temperatures this year accompanied by below-average rainfall and
declining water levels in major rivers.
The rainfall between
December and April 2015 would be much below average while the
temperature would be 0.5-1 degree Celsius higher than normal, the centre
also forecast.
Speaking at a recent seminar in Dong Thap
province, Tran Dinh Phong, Deputy Head of the centre’s
Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Management Division, said floods in the
delta were low this year and the water levels in major rivers were
significantly reduced compared to previous years.
Seawater is likely to encroach 40-50km inland from rivermouths, or twice this year’s levels, he warned further.
Doan
Tan Trieu, Deputy Director of the Tra Vinh Province Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development, said, “This year, the province’s
observation stations have recorded saltwater intrusion since
mid-November.”
Luong Quang Xo, Deputy Head of the Southern
Irrigation Planning Institute, said delta provinces, especially those
along the coast like Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Ben Tre, and Tien
Giang, should dredge their canals and store freshwater for the
winter-spring and summer-autumn rice crops.
Tang Duc Thang,
Deputy Director of the Southern Irrigation Science Research Institute,
said the delta provinces had become experienced at coping with drought
and salinity over the years, but the most important thing is funding.
The
Government should provide financial support to employ the measures
required to cope with the drought and salinity intrusion, he said.
Trieu said one of the things Tra Vinh must do was plant the rice crop earlier than usual.
“In early December we will begin storing freshwater to ensure irrigation for agriculture.”
In the 2010-11 winter-spring rice crop, Tra Vinh lost around 10,000ha of rice because of a water shortage.
In
Kien Giang province, authorities have been closing sluice gates along
the coast to keep out saltwater since October, according to the local
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
They has also built 52 temporary dams and upgraded some existing ones to ensure there is water for irrigation.
Some
of the coastal provinces like Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Tien Giang, and Ben
Tre are also worried about a possible shortage of freshwater for
domestic use.-VNA