Proactively regulate floods, ensure safety for downstream areas

These days, the circulation of storm No. 10 (BUALOI) has caused prolonged heavy rain, causing the amount of water flowing into hydroelectric reservoirs in Tuyen Quang province to increase. In this situation, hydroelectric plants have urgently and synchronously deployed many flood control measures, both ensuring the safety of the works and minimizing risks to people in the downstream areas.

Staff and workers of Tuyen Quang Hydropower Company are on duty 24/7 at the factory.

High concentration on construction operations

At the Song Mien 6 Hydropower Plant ( Ha Giang 2 Ward), the floodwater flow into the reservoir in recent days has reached about 1,000 m³/second. This is a project with a capacity of 5 MW, a reservoir capacity of 0.947 million m³, a dam height of 20 m, and is among the group of medium-sized hydropower plants in the province.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Director of Song Mien 6 Hydropower Plant shared: “To respond promptly, at 9:00 p.m. on September 29, the plant stopped generating electricity and opened 7/8 floodgates to ensure safety for the project and downstream. The unit implemented the "4 on-site" motto, maintaining forces, vehicles, and materials ready to respond. The operation process was strictly monitored, continuously updating weather forecasts and water volume to the lake for appropriate regulation."

In addition to hydrological operations, the plant also uses an automatic monitoring system to measure rain and water levels. This allows for close monitoring of rainfall and flood fluctuations, helping to adjust discharge plans promptly and accurately.

Faced with complicated weather and water flow conditions, Tuyen Quang Hydropower Company has focused all resources, urgently deployed on-duty work, forecasted and prepared to respond to any unusual situations that may arise during the operation of the project.

Mr. Vu Van Tinh, Director of Tuyen Quang Hydropower Company, said that the company has been maintaining a 24/7 command and disaster prevention duty; closely monitoring the development of rain and floods, the flow to the reservoir, the water level upstream and downstream of the reservoir, promptly reporting to the authorities to decide on an operation plan to cut and reduce floods for the downstream. The monitoring systems, warning equipment and communication with the riverside localities are continuously maintained, ensuring timely information for local authorities and people in the upstream and downstream areas before operating flood discharge according to the process to ensure the safety of people and property.

Up to this point, Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant has effectively cut off flood at the flood peak at 9:30 a.m. on September 30, the water flow into the reservoir reached 6,985 m³/second, the discharge flow at the same time was 5,060 m³/second. The flood cut flow at the peak is 1,925 m³/second, corresponding to the flood cut capacity at the peak of 6.93 million m³. The total flood cut capacity for the downstream area calculated on September 30 alone that Tuyen Quang Hydropower Reservoir has implemented is up to 76.49 million m³.

There are currently 38 large hydropower plants, 6 medium hydropower plants and 7 small hydropower plants in Tuyen Quang province. Projects related to the Lo, Gam and Mien river basins are all maintaining strict on-duty regimes, closely monitoring the development of floods and rains to have appropriate flood discharge measures, avoiding the risk of dam safety and protecting downstream areas.

Be proactive, safety is top priority

Workers check the spillway at Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant.

Faced with the complicated flood situation, Chairman of Tuyen Quang Provincial People's Committee Phan Huy Ngoc assigned the Department of Industry and Trade to strictly comply with the reservoir operation process and inter-reservoir operation process approved by competent authorities.

According to Mr. Hoang Anh Cuong, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Tuyen Quang, the unit always strictly follows the instructions of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Civil Defense Command in flood cutting, flood reduction and flood delay for downstream areas. Closely monitor the development of rain and flood, inflow to the reservoir, water levels upstream and downstream of the reservoir to promptly notify relevant units, decide on flood cutting and reduction operation plans for downstream areas. Closely coordinate with the Civil Defense Command, local authorities at all levels in the area affected by the project; including information work on flood regulation, flood discharge warning, to avoid unfortunate damage.

Hydropower projects with water levels reaching normal water levels such as Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant need to increase spillway operations with the discharge volume downstream equivalent to the amount of water reaching the reservoir to maintain the current reservoir water level not exceeding the normal water level. Timely report to competent authorities when unusual situations occur beyond the unit's handling capacity.

In fact, flood control at hydropower plants in Tuyen Quang is not only a technical requirement but also an important political task, directly related to the safety of tens of thousands of households in the downstream area. Operating reservoirs according to procedures, with synchronous coordination between businesses, authorities and people will contribute to minimizing damage and ensuring a peaceful life in the context of increasingly severe natural disasters.

In the coming days, when floods and rains become more complicated, hydropower projects in Tuyen Quang province will continue to strictly implement the on-duty regime, update monitoring data, and proactively develop response plans to help localities overcome this difficult period and protect people's safety.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/chu-dong-dieu-tiet-lu-bao-dam-an-toan-cho-vung-ha-du-20251002170938714.htm