Solutions to overcome flooding in Bac Giang ward

BAC NINH - Storm No. 11 caused prolonged heavy rain, causing many streets and residential areas in Bac Giang ward - the urban core of the old Bac Giang city - to be submerged in water. Hundreds of households were affected, traffic was congested, and daily life was disrupted. This reality once again raised the urgent need to review and upgrade the urban drainage system, which is already overloaded and degraded compared to the current development speed.

Street submerged in water

Up to today, although the water on the Thuong River has receded below alert level 1; the regulating lakes in Bac Giang ward have been pumped out of the river by pumping stations, and there are no more flooded areas, many households are still shocked to remember the time when the water rose high and flooded all the streets, entering their houses for nearly a week.

After 5 days of rain (October 11), the intersection between Nguyen Cong Hang and Vuong Van Tra streets is still deeply flooded.

Mr. Luu Van Quyen on Than Nhan Tin Street, Cung Nhuong 2 Residential Group, specializes in selling cleaning products, said: "When Chi Ly Pumping Station stopped pumping, I didn't expect the water to rise so quickly. When I got home, the water had flooded the first floor, about 40 cm high. Nearly 30 boxes of cleaning products were flooded, all packaging and labels were damaged." According to Mr. Quyen, a neighbor's family had to "evacuate" their entire family to another place because the water had penetrated deep into the house and the electricity was cut off.

In the same situation as Mr. Quyen's family, Mr. Tran Quoc Thinh on Nhat Duc Street, Chi Ly 2 residential group, who specializes in breakfast business, also had water from the lake rise up to the first floor, reaching the stairs. Mr. Thinh said that he has lived here for more than 50 years but has never seen the water rise as high as this time. "I had to temporarily stop my business for 5 days because the water flooded into my house. Not only that, the water was so deep that cars and motorbikes could not move around, which was very inconvenient," Mr. Thinh said.

Not only these two households, hundreds of other families in Bac Giang ward were also affected by flooding on the streets, especially on Than Nhan Tin, Tran Dang Tuyen, Vuong Van Tra, Le An, Nhat Duc, Nguyen Cong Hang streets...

It is known that the impact of storm No. 11 caused heavy rain over a large area. Since October 8, there has been no rain in Bac Giang ward, but the water level on the Thuong River passing through the ward has exceeded alert level 3; at the same time, drainage pumping stations in the ward have stopped operating to ensure the safety of the dike and the pumping station itself. Therefore, water from the regulating lakes has risen, flooding the streets and houses in the area, lasting nearly a week. Vice Chairman of Bac Giang Ward People's Committee Nguyen Duy Hung said: "Because the drainage pumping stations to the Thuong River had to stop operating, about 300 households in the ward have been affected. I hope that the authorities will take measures to prevent the above situation from recurring."

Need comprehensive and synchronous planning

Through actual surveys and information from authorities, there are many reasons why drainage pumping stations in Bac Giang ward have to stop operating even though many residential areas are severely flooded. In addition to the causes of heavy rainfall, prolonged rain, and high water levels of the Thuong River, most of the pumping stations here have been built for a long time, are degraded, and do not meet urgent requirements. The pumping work to prevent flooding for the basins in Bac Giang ward is carried out through 6 pumping stations managed by the Drainage and Wastewater Treatment Center (Department of Construction) with 31 units, total capacity of 147,000 m ³ /h. Of the 6 drainage pumping stations, only Chau Xuyen 2 and Van Son pumping stations were invested in construction since 2020; The rest were all built before 2010, except for Chi Ly Pumping Station which was built in 1977. Because the pumping stations were not built at the same time and the investment scale was different, the elevations were also different. Specifically, the elevation of Chau Xuyen 1 Pumping Station is 7.2m; Chau Xuyen 2 is 7.24m; Van Son: 7.18m; Dong Cua: 7.5m; Nha Dau: 7.4m and Chi Ly: 7.15m. If the water level on the Thuong River is higher than the design elevation, the pumping station will not be allowed to pump water into the river.

Chi Ly pumping station was built in 1977 and has now degraded and cannot meet urgent needs.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Tung, Director of the Drainage and Wastewater Treatment Center (Department of Construction of the province) said that most of the construction systems and equipment managed by the Center have now seriously degraded. Rainwater pumping stations, sewer systems, and booster pumping stations have been damaged and have not been overhauled due to lack of capital. They are mainly only temporarily repaired when problems arise, posing high risks during the rainy and stormy season. "Chi Ly pumping station is the most degraded. During the impact of the recent storm No. 11, the Center really wanted to pump water soon to drain water for the people, but due to the safety requirements of the works and dikes, the operation at this time still poses high risks, especially the end wall of the discharge channel has been degraded, weak and at risk of instability when subjected to high water pressure," Mr. Tung shared.

In order to overcome the above difficulties and shortcomings, the key issue now is to promptly review and evaluate the overall state of degradation of pumping stations, main sewer blockages and wastewater treatment plants, thereby building a list of urgent areas that need to be renovated and upgraded. In addition, local authorities and functional agencies should strengthen propaganda work, raise people's awareness of not dumping waste and excess construction materials into sewers and drainage ditches, creating a smooth flow; at the same time, supplement human resources for the Center to ensure effective operation.

In the long term, gradually propose master planning projects for the drainage system for the entire Bac Giang ward area, add regulating lakes, booster pumping stations, apply monitoring and early warning technology. Thereby helping to improve drainage capacity, meet the requirements of sustainable urban development, and reduce flooding.

Article and photos: Do Thanh Nam

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/giai-phap-khac-phuc-ngap-ung-tai-phuong-bac-giang-postid429058.bbg