Obsessed because hydropower discharges

Extreme obsession

Mr. Dinh Doi, 68 years old, Secretary of O3 village, Vinh Kim commune, Vinh Thanh district, Binh Dinh province, keeps the habit of welcoming guests. However, when it comes to hydropower, he seemed very sad and felt bitter.

According to Mr. Dinh Doi, every time in the rainy season, O3 villagers can't feel secure. Whenever receiving notice of Vinh Son 5 hydropower discharge, the villagers are worried.

“The most horrifying was in 2013. It was pouring rain, Vinh Son 5 hydropower discharged. The Kon River had no water all year round, suddenly it rose and rushed," said Mr. Dinh Doi.

The level of encroachment on the bank of the flood that year was up to 50 meters, with 600 meters long. Because the dam is located right on O3 village, the fast current swept away three houses. Within an hour and a half, since the dam had discharged, three houses disappeared.

"If the local government did not mobilize to evacuate in time, the people of these three households would die," Mr. Dinh Doi said.

For Mr. Dinh Khu, Vice Chairman of Vinh Kim Commune People's Committee, apart from the flood in 2013, he also remembers the floods in 2016 and 2020. “Those were all horrors. When the hydropower was discharged, the water of the Kon River flows extremely fast, sweeping into O3 village. People had to evacuate before hydropower discharged,” he said.

Because of hydropower discharge, Dak Tral village is divided into two separate areas. One is the center of Vinh Kim commune, with administrative offices. One is with 107 households of Ba Na people on the high mountain. Interspersed between the two areas is the water channel of Vinh Son 5 hydropower plant and Kon River.

When the hydropower discharges, 107 households in Dak Tral village will be isolated. They couldn't go anywhere and could only wait for help outside.

In the 2016 flood, Vinh Kim Commune People's Committee asked Vinh Son 5 Hydropower Management Board to send excavators to break the canal to prevent water from overflowing into the village.

Lack of planning

“We hope that when planning hydropower, the authorities must survey the reality. If building hydropower plants on top of each other like on the Kon River, it is challenging for the commune authorities when there is an incident. We cannot handle people's complaints because it is not within our jurisdiction," said Mr. Dinh Khu.

Due to lack of planning, Vinh Son 5 hydropower plant discharges in rainy and dry seasons. Mr. Dinh Doi said that the hydropower had been discharged many times without notice. The overflowing water suddenly washed away all the plastic pipes carrying domestic water from the mountain of O3 villagers.

“The villagers seem to stay in prison for 4-5 days every time dam discharge. The suspension bridge to the north of the village was flooded, and the way was no longer visible," said Mr.  Dinh Doi.

Due to the erratic discharge from hydropower plants, the bridge to O3 village, invested by the Ministry of Transport, has not been completed for 3 years. The villagers had to build a makeshift bridge to cross the river in the dry season.

According to research, Vinh Son 5 hydropower plant discharges in the dry season for fear of flooding the machinery of the Vinh Son-Song Hinh hydropower plant located upside.

Another reason why the hydropower system on the Kon River discharges erratically because thousands of hectares of vital watershed protection forests have disappeared. Watershed forests are like water retention places. Without them, the flood is more aggressive.