Saltwater intrusion creates water shortage in An Giang

April 13, 2018 - 11:00

Some 215,000 people in the southern province of An Giang are staring at water shortage this summer because of saltwater intrusion and drought, the province’s agricultural official said.

Drought and saltwater intrusion will make some 215,000 people in the southern province of An Giang face shortage of water.— VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đạt
Viet Nam News

AN GIANG — Some 215,000 people in the southern province of An Giang are staring at water shortage this summer because of saltwater intrusion and drought, the province’s agricultural official said.

Director of the province Agriculture and Rural Development Department Trần Anh Thư said some 20,000 people in the districts of Thoại Sơn, Tri Tôn would lack water for daily use in March and April because salt water had intruded into the Rạch Giá–Long Xuyên canal that provide water for a local water supply plant.

Some 45,000 people in the two mountainous districts of Tịnh Biên and Tri Tôn may get little water due to drought, while 150,000 people could not be provided enough water as they were located away from the water supply plants.

Thư said drought and saltwater intrusion would likely hit more than 74,000ha of farming area.

The official said the province was taking measures to minimise the impacts of saltwater intrusion and drought, by  improving the water pipe network, dredging canals and reservoirs, as well as by instructing local residents about desalination. — VNS

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