Hydro plants open sluice gates in flood
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Ha Tinh reservoirs seriously downgraded
HA TINH — Nearly 60 per cent of reservoirs in the central province of Ha Tinh are in a seriously downgraded condition, posing risks for local residents during the stormy season.
Tran Duy Chien, deputy director of the provincial Irrigation Department, said most reservoirs were built about 60 years ago, and had degraded over time.
Khe Xanh reservoir in Ky Anh District, with its capacity of 700,000 cubic metres, was also found to have leaks up to 15 centimetres long along its body, and the roof had eroded. Khe Bo reservoir, with a capacity of 1.2 million cubic metres, needed repair work due to serious erosion.
Chien said there were about 200 downgraded reservoirs in the province, of which 20 were in urgent need of repair at a total cost of more than VND800 billion (US$38.4 million) to assure the safety of households in low-lying areas.
The provincial budget would be unable to provide the funding to carry out comprehensive repair work, he said. — VNS
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HA NOI — The Son La Hydro-electric Plant has continued to discharge flood water through the second sluice gate after receiving an urgent instruction from the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control yesterday.
The decision was made after a heavy downpour last Sunday dumped around 6,000 cubic metres of water per second into Son La reservoir, located in the northern mountain province of the same name.
Last Sunday morning, the plant began discharging water for the first time when the water level in the reservoir reached 198.5 metres, lowering it to 194 metres.
The reservoir's capacity is 218 metres.
The plant has informed local residents in low-lying areas and sent staff to remind locals not to farm aquaculture while the sluice is open.
The move is not expected to cause any losses for residents as more than 20,000 households were evacuated and resettled via a VND4.2 trillion (US$201.6 million) programme. Households in 17 low-lying communes were moved to higher ground.
Two other hydro-electric power plants in neighbouring Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang provinces also discharged flood water last Sunday.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the water level rose 6.82 metres in the Hong (Red) River in Ha Noi, and 23.39 metres in the Lo River in Tuyen Quang.
The northern region is forecast to experience heavy rain over the next few days.
The Son La Hydro-electric Plant is the biggest of its kind with a planned capacity of 2,400MW and six turbines. The plant has 12 sluice gates. — VNS