Mekong Delta's durian with concern about intrusion after incident

In recent days, the situation of saltwater intrusion in Ben Tre province has been gradually increasing. To prevent salt water and store fresh water for farmers in some communes of Chau Thanh district, the Ben Ro sewer located in Tien Long commune (upstream of Ba Lai River) has gone into operation.

However, many durian-growing households in Tien Long and Tan Phu communes expressed concern when this saltwater prevention sewer project had an incident of saltwater leakage with intrusion from outside. This situation occurs even though the sewer has just been handed over to the operating unit by the contractor not long ago.

On March 11, speaking with Vietnam Agriculture News, a representative of the Irrigation Investment and Construction Project Management Board 9 (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - the investor of this project said that the cause of the Ben Ro sewer leak was due to a misaligned sewer rubber seal. The Board asked the construction contractor to adjust and fix the problem as soon as possible.

"We have already treated the bottom part, there is still a little section in the sewer wall that is being repaired", a representative of Board 9 said that this project is in the contractor's warranty period.

According to Mr. Bui Trung Chinh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tien Long commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province, over the past 10 days, the Ben Ro sluice gate has been closed to prevent saltwater intrusion. However, there is a phenomenon of salt water leaking from outside, affecting the freshwater source used for watering plants of the people living next to the sewer area.

Also according to Mr. Chinh, Tien Long commune has about 600 ha of durian growing. Currently, some river sections in the commune are salty and cannot be used to irrigate durian trees.

“People are using water stored in ditches and canals for irrigation. In addition, local authorities also regularly measure salinity levels on main rivers to warn people not to use water from outside the river for irrigation. Only when the water source is guaranteed can you begin irrigation", Mr Chinh said.

Mr. Tran Van Phat, a resident of Tien Hung hamlet who has 2.5 durian gardens next to the Ben Ro sewer area, said that, in recent days, because the sewer has been leaking salt water, the water source near the sewer area can no longer be used to irrigate durian.

He also said that the durian garden is in the stage of flowering and releasing pistils. However, the irrigation water source inside the Ba Lai River next to the Ben Ro sewer has been contaminated with salinity up to nearly 0.4 g/l, making it impossible to irrigate durian.

"If there is no irrigation water in the next few days, my durian garden will be at risk of leaf burn and be damaged", Mr Phat worried.

Currently, many durian-growing households in Tien Long and Tan Phu communes of Chau Thanh district regularly go to Ben Ro sewer to monitor the situation of saltwater leaks as well as the troubleshooting work of the construction unit.

“About 10 days now, this is the 5th time that I went to the sewer and saw that salt water was still leaking in. I'm worried that if we don't fix this leak soon, the salt water will mix with fresh water over time, penetrating deeper", a household with 5,000 m2 of durians in the fruit-bearing stage in Tan Phu commune, 5km from Ben Ro sewer said.

Ben Ro salinity prevention sewer is one of eight sewers under the Ben Tre Water Management project using Japanese loans (JICA-3), constructed by the joint venture of contractors Hassyu Vietnam Joint Stock Company - Tran Tran Company Limited - DTC Investment Joint Stock Company.

The project has just been completed and put into operation to prevent salinity and store fresh water upstream of the Ba Lai River. The sewer protects tens of thousands of ha of durian and rambutan growing areas... of people in communes upstream of the Ba Lai River in Chau Thanh district.

People pooled their money to pump fresh water to "save" durian

Taking advantage of the water source inside Ba Lai River, about more than 1km away from Ben Ro sewer, with a water source that is not yet contaminated with salinity, for more than 10 days now, many households in Tien Hung hamlet, Tien Long commune have contributed funds to continuously pump fresh water into two canals: Bao Sen and Rach Ban, serving water sources for about 50 ha of durian for nearly 100 households in the hamlet. Mr. Le Van Toan, Head of Tien Hung hamlet, said that currently, the durian growing area in the hamlet has no source of fresh water other than the water source on the Ba Lai River inside of the Ben Ro sewer. This is why the people pump continuously day and night to get enough water for irrigation.