People in An Hiệp Commune in Bến Tre Province’s Ba Tri District fetch water from a free supply site at the local People’s Committee. – VNA/VNS Photo Chương Đài

BẾN TRE – Bến Tre Province has taken a number of effective measures to prevent saltwater intrusion this dry season, mitigating its impacts on agriculture and daily life.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has faced severe saltwater intrusion up its rivers.

Trần Ngọc Tam, chairman of the province People’s Committee, said a programme to encourage the public to store water from rains and other sources for irrigation and household use has proven extremely effective.

People have used containers and huge plastic bags and dug ponds in orchards to store water.

The province has built new irrigation works and upgraded existing ones.

Nguyễn Thành Tấn of Chợ Lách District’s Hoà Nghĩa Commune said he dug a pond in his 4,000sq.m durian orchard.

The pond holds 500 cu.m of water, enough to irrigate the orchard for one to two months, according to the farmer.

He has also invested in an automatic irrigation system to save water and grows grass in the orchard to keep the soil moist.

The province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has helped farmers switch to crops that can cope with saltwater.

It has also developed effective farming models to improve production efficiency.

A salinity of four grammes per litre was found 42-54 km inland in many major rivers on May 2, according to the province Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting.

It was 54 km deep into the mouth of the Hàm Luông River in Châu Thành District.

Most plants can only survive four grammes.

The province has 67 water supply plants with a total capacity of 250,000cu.m a day.

Last month it decided to reduce by 10 per cent the tariffs for tap water supplied by the Provincial Centre for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation in March and April.

The province has an estimated 25,000 households facing a water shortage this dry season.

It has set up 165 sites in Giồng Trôm, Ba Tri, Chợ Lách, Thạnh Phú, Châu Thành and Bình Đại districts to supply free water to locals.

It has also organised vehicles to transport water for people living in areas affected by saltwater.

Many philanthropists and organisations have also set up water tanks and provided water to people living in areas with water shortages.

At the end of last month the province Youth Union and philanthropists did so in Mỏ Cày Nam District’s An Định Commune.

Last week the Central Committee of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) and the Việt Nam Young Entrepreneurs Association donated water tanks and water bottles in Ba Tri District.

HCYU also donated money to assist locals, including for building a bridge and a children’s playground in An Hiệp Commune, in addition to VNĐ1 billion (US$40,000) each to help poor households breed cattle for beef and provide soft loans for young people looking to set up start-ups. – VNS