Residents in the lower reaches of the Central Highlands live in permanent fear of a dam breach in the rainy season because of unsafe conditions of several irrigation reservoirs and hydropower dams.
Hundreds of irrigation reservoirs built since 1975 are now downgraded but local authorities are unable to repair them due to shortage of funds.
Most reservoirs have been built in mountainous terrains. Once they breach, huge volumes of water will flow down to lowlands to threaten human lives and properties.
Dak Lak Province has 643 irrigation works, of which 62 have been damaged and are unsafe in the rainy and flooding season.
Dak Nong Province has 155 irrigation works but 125 of them have seen water leaks in dams and dam surfaces have sunken and eroded.
Hoang Trung Tho, director of Irrigation Works Management Company in Dak Nong Province, said that Bon Sa Nar, Dak R’Sung and Dak Do works are in alarming conditions and likely to burst at any time.
Ayun Ha, the largest irrigation work in the northern part of the Central Highlands, provides water for 12,500 hectares of plants. However it has been badly downgraded due to violations by local residents. They have let heavy trucks ply on the canal surface and encroached on land in the vicinity of the work.
If the Ayun Ha dam bursts, lives and properties of hundreds of thousands of residents in Gia Lai and Phu Yen Province will be threatened.
Lam Dong Province also records several downgraded irrigation works like Bao Lam, R’Lom, Ka De, Bo Ka Bang, Da Don, Cam Ly Thuong, Ka La, Loc Thang and Tan Rai. The dam surface has peeled, sunken and is leaking.
Da Ron dam has been weakened with several termite nests and some spots have slid into the reservoir bed.
The above works are in need of repair but the province is out of funds, said Phan Cong Ngon, head of the Irrigation Department.
Threat from Hydropower Plants
The Central Highlands is the largest hydropower center in Vietnam with 11 large plants in operation. Besides, 360 small and medium others are under construction or at planning stage.
Several hydropower reservoirs are now a big concern in the Central Highlands, particularly in the rainy season.
Ea Sup 3 Hydropower Plant in Dak Lak Province was put on trial in May but its pressure reservoir burst twice while the drainage canal has been leaking.
Construction of the drainage canal at Srepok 4A Hydropower Plant in the same province blocked Ea La Spring, making it swell during a heavy rain to flood hundreds of hectares of rice and vegetables, just a couple of days ago.
Kon Tum Province has licensed tens of hydropower projects but they have not supervised their quality.
Careless construction caused a dam breach at the Dak Met 3 Hydropower Plant in November last year. The incident killed one person.
After the incident, the province has removed 21 small and medium scale hydropower projects out of their development plan.
