(News Portal – Dong Nai) – Dong Nai province currently has 11 reservoirs providing clean water supply, with a capacity of 98 million m3, water supply capacity of more than 185 thousand m3/day. It is expected that by 2030, 12 more reservoirs will be built with a capacity of 25 million m3 to ensure stable water supply.
Priority will be given to the construction of new reservoirs in areas far from water sources and scarce underground water sources.
Leaders of the Provincial People's Committee inspected Cau Moi Lake in Long Thanh district
12 new water reservoirs are to be built
In early 2024, the Provincial People's Committee issued Plan No. 08/KH-UBND on protecting and expanding surface water sources to provide domestic water supply in Dong Nai province until 2030. The plan sets goals to ensure quantity and quality of water supplied for daily life and economic activities; proactively store and regulate water sources, reduce water-related risks and damages; improve health and quality of life for people in rural areas, contributing to the implementation of the National Target Program on building new rural areas...
Notably in the group of solutions to expand water sources is that the province will invest in building 12 new water reservoirs with a total capacity of more than 25 million m3 to store water during the rainy season and regulate water during the dry season. These lakes are expected to provide about 67 thousand m3/day of clean water with a total investment of more than 2 trillion VND. Some large water reservoirs that will be invested in and built are: Binh Son lake (Long Thanh district) with a capacity of more than 5 million m3, a lake in Xuan Que commune (Cam My district) with a capacity of 4.8 million m3, lake Gia Ui 2 (Xuan Loc District) has a capacity of more than 3.2 million m3...
In addition to new construction investment solutions, the province plans to upgrade and dredge existing reservoirs to increase capacity to supply water for socio-economic development and people's lives.
Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Huynh Tan Loc shared that Dong Nai province has abundant surface water resources but it is unevenly distributed. Along with that, overexploitation of groundwater leads to water scarcity in some areas, affecting agricultural production, people's daily life and the target of increasing the proportion of rural households having access to tap water according to new rural criteria. The construction of water reservoirs is a long-term solution to increase surface water sources for irrigation and domestic use, and proactively respond to natural disasters and droughts. In case of river water problems, the reservoir is a safe source of water storage and supply.
Chairman of People's Committee of Cam My district Huynh Tan Thin said that the locality currently had a low rate of households having access to clean water, partly because of the scarcity of surface water sources. According to Mr. Thin, the district currently has a number of water reservoirs, but they are far from residential areas and the terrain has high slopes, making it difficult to invest in projects to supply clean water to people from lake water sources. The implementation of new construction of water reservoirs in the district is important for economic development, social security and ecological environment.
A water reservoir in Cam My district
Ensuring water security for the future
In Plan No. 08/KH-UBND dated January 8, 2024 on Protecting and expanding surface water sources to serve domestic water supply in Dong Nai province until 2030, the Provincial People's Committee set out 3 main groups of solutions. In which, the group of solutions to protect surface water resources is the tasks of controlling the exploitation and use of underground water resources; improve water storage capacity and cope with extreme rain and floods at reservoirs; proactively control, prevent and limit pollution, degradation and depletion of water sources. In the plan to expand water sources, there are renovating and upgrading 11 existing reservoirs, and creating 12 new lakes in localities far from surface water sources and without many irrigation reservoirs. And the group of management solutions is to improve the efficiency of water management, protection, exploitation and use; strengthen the capacity, responsibility, and operational efficiency of state management agencies in coordinating and supervising water resource exploitation, use, and protection activities; mobilize resources to invest in water storage and water supply projects...
In 2023, at the Southeast Regional Coordination Conference, Acting Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Tan Duc proposed to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to consider allowing Dong Nai to establish a research project to dredge Tri An lake bed. According to the Acting Chairman, before the Tri An Hydroelectric Plant closed the dam, the current terrain remained intact, so there was a large amount of red gravel soil and sand deposited on the lake bed. Currently, the plant is building more units to increase capacity, so it needs to increase reservoir reserves. If feasible, dredging the Tri An lake bed would have the dual effect of increasing water storage for power generation and water regulation downstream, and providing additional sources of backfilling materials for key projects in the region.
Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Van Phi said that water is an important resource to ensure sustainable development. In the newly issued plan to protect and expand water sources, the Provincial People's Committee has set out goals, tasks, solutions and implementation responsibilities of agencies, units and localities. Relevant parties will base on this plan to implement tasks, the focus is still on protecting water sources from the risk of pollution and depletion, and at the same time having proactive solutions to store and distribute water sources, ensuring current and future socio-economic development goals.
In particular, the Department of Construction presides over the implementation of the plan to ensure the set goals. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment presides over the protection of water sources, preventing and combating the risks of pollution and water resource depletion. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development manages and operates water reservoirs and clean water supply in rural areas. District-level People's Committees are responsible for protecting and reviewing needs to regulate and allocate water sources appropriately and invite investment in clean water supply projects for people.