Bac Kan implements irrigation projects from the government budget

A series of degraded irrigation works

Bac Kan province currently has 2,410 irrigation works, of which there are 35 water reservoirs (11 large reservoirs, 10 medium reservoirs, 14 small reservoirs) and 41 pumping stations. The rest are dams and water irrigation for more than 20,000 ha/year. The total length of irrigation canals has been solidified by nearly 1,600 km, accounting for 68% of the whole size of the entire system.

Most irrigation works in the province have a small area, mainly from 5 to 10 ha. Only 64 irrigation works have an irrigation area of over 20 ha (accounting for 2.6% of the total number of projects in the province).

Bac Kan has a dense network of dams and irrigation canals. But due to the characteristics of the mountainous terrain, which is sloping and divided, many works have been damaged and seriously degraded under the impact of natural disasters.

Many lakes have leaked through the dam body for years but still have to store water for production. Worryingly, these reservoirs are often located in high places. The bottom is usually residential areas or people's production areas, so if the dam breaks, it can have serious consequences.

Among them is the Khuoi Con irrigation reservoir (Cho Moi district) which has been seriously damaged. Since 2019, a part of the wall of the power dissipation tank on the right of the lake has been broken under the impact of many floods, now both sides of the dam abutment are badly damaged, and there are seepage stains through the wall body, stairs from Houses downstream to the van house on the left side of the dam also subsided and cracked. In 2021, there will continue to be some sinkholes in the abutment yard, tilting the valve pier and jamming the valve leading to the inability to open and close the discharge gate.

Khuoi Co lake project has an average capacity of about 261,000 m³. The maximum capacity can reach 520,000 m³, serving irrigation for 67ha of rice land and a part of land for other crops. Despite the severe damage, Bac Kan province has only temporarily repaired the work without funding for major repairs.

Dai Van Thieu, Head of the Bac Kan Sub-Department of Water Resources, said most unsafe lakes have only been temporarily repaired due to insufficient funds. Currently, the agricultural sector has advised the provincial People's Committee to propose the Central Government support the repair of urgent works to ensure safety and provide water for production in hot weather and complicated droughts.

To overcome and improve irrigation capacity, every year, Bac Kan province only has a meager capital source integrated from national target programs and agricultural projects for repair. Management units actively balance the budget for the temporary restoration of damaged works.

Nguyen Ngoc Tien, Deputy Director of Bac Kan Irrigation Works Management and Exploitation One Member Company Limited manages 390 irrigation works, many of which have been built for a long time and deteriorated but have not been repaired. Every year, the amount of money deducted for repair is VND 2 - 3 billion, just enough to temporarily improve some small works and large reservoirs that cannot be repaired despite knowing the danger.

In the context of limited resources, Bac Kan province has now assigned districts and cities to manage more than 2,000 small irrigation projects through more than 100 water-using groups.

Invest in many large irrigation projects

In recent years, the lack of investment capital for irrigation in Bac Kan is gradually having a solution when many projects have been, are, and are about to be built.

From now to 2025, the irrigation field in Bac Kan will be invested to implement eight major projects. Specifically, the central budget managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will invest in three irrigation reservoirs, including Na Bang, Khuoi Linh, and Khuoi Thie, and repair Ban Chang, Pac Nghien, Na Lang, Na Kien reservoirs, and Na Quanh dam with a total investment of more than VND 400 billion.

Mr. Dinh Huy Hoang, Director of the Management Board of the Investment and Construction Project of Agriculture and Rural Development in Bac Kan province, said that this project plays a significant role in the irrigation field of Bac Kan, so the unit is rushing to complete it, strive to organize bidding and start construction of this project by the end of this year. When finished, these irrigation works will help irrigate many arid lands, and many severely damaged lakes will be repaired.

To perfect the irrigation system, Bac Kan province has also issued policies to support the development of minor irrigation, water storage works, in-field irrigation, and advanced and water-saving irrigation.

Bac Kan province will also implement projects to deal with urgent river and stream erosion from now to 2025. Accordingly, it will invest in barriers to prevent landslides of the Nang River bank in Thuong Giao commune and Cho Ra town (Ba Be district), the bank of Bac Giang River in Yen Lac town (Na Ri district), with a total length of more than 1,700 m. Total investment is VND 98 billion, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development manages capital from the central budget.