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| Officials check salinity in the Tiền River in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang. – Photo tuoitre.vn |
Viet Nam News
TIỀN GIANG — Saltwater has entered 35 kilometres up the Tiền River, one of the tributaries of the Mekong, in Tiền Giang Province, a local irrigation official said.
Nguyễn Thiện Pháp, head of the province Irrigation Sub-department, said most sluice gates in Chợ Gạo, Gò Công Tây and Gò Công Đông districts and Gò Công town have been closed because the salinity exceeds 1.5 gramme per litre.
These places have around 30,000ha of winter-spring rice which will be harvested in the next two months.
The province People’s Committee has instructed authorities there to use large pumps to save the crop.
It has also ordered the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to measure the salinity in the Tiền daily and post on its website to inform farmers.
Pháp said: “The salinity has been increasing by 0.2 grammes per litre daily in recent days. The next two months will be very tense.”
In recent years seawater has been flowing upstream immediately after the rainy season ends in December in the Mekong Delta. — VNS
