The Central Highlands groundwater level is decreasing rapidly.

Every day, 1.5 million ^m3 of water is sucked from underground.

At the scientific conference with the theme "Water with life and people of the Central Highlands" held recently in Dak Lak, Associate Professor, Dr. Doan Van Canh, former President of the Vietnam Hydrogeological Association, stated the current situation, the average annual rainfall in the Central Highlands is nearly 100 billion m ³ / year, of which about 50 billion m ³ / year creates surface flow (rivers and streams), the amount of water seeping into the ground is about 3.2 billion m ³ / year, the rest evaporates. Of the amount of water seeping into the ground, about 1.4 billion m ³ / year is added to the aquifer, the rest creates underground flow into the rivers. The total amount of water in the aquifers in the Central Highlands is 117 - 170 billion m ³ .

Farmers dig wells to get water to irrigate coffee during the dry season in Dak Lak

The current water demand in the Central Highlands is about 11.7 billion ^m3 /year. By 2022, the exploitation of underground water in the Central Highlands will be about 1.5 million ^m3 /day. At the current rate of groundwater exploitation, the water reserve can be exploited for 60 years.

Before the 1990s, the four provinces of Kon Tum , Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong had 2,272 channels with a flow rate of 0.5 liters/second or more. But by 2020, according to the investigation and assessment of the Vietnam Institute of Water Resources, the number and flow rate of the above channels had decreased significantly, to about 40 - 60%, and the flow rate of the main channels was only about 30 - 40%.

The reason is the loss of water sources, most of the rain falls and flows away, not having enough time to soak into the ground, and there are even months of dry season without rain. This causes the basalt aquifer to not be replenished in time while we exploit groundwater for socio-economic activities. "To retain more water in the Central Highlands, it is necessary to protect forests, reforest bare hills, collect rainwater and surface water and put it into surface reservoirs, and put it into poor aquifers so that it can be exploited and used," Dr. Canh advised.

6 challenges to water resources in the Central Highlands

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy General Director of the National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation, pointed out 6 challenges to the exploitation and use of water resources in the Central Highlands: First, water resources are unevenly distributed. Second, the poor water storage capacity of the land and the decline in the quality of upstream forests increase the shortage of water flow in the dry season. Third, changes in population and economic and crop structure lead to increasing exploitation of water resources, leading to a decrease in groundwater levels. Fourth, irrigation and hydropower systems have a major impact on the flow regime. Some hydropower projects transfer water to other areas, causing water shortages. Fifth, there are not enough resources to complete the irrigation system according to the plan. Sixth, there is a lack of systematic research related to planning and integrated management of river basins.

Socio-economic activities in the Central Highlands rely heavily on groundwater exploitation.

To address these challenges, Dr. Ha recommends applying water-saving solutions in agriculture, industry and daily life. In addition, research should be done to transform the production structure and crop seasons towards high-quality and high-value agricultural products, suitable for water resources and adapting to climate change. In addition, it is necessary to transform the crop structure and production area in areas with water shortages and frequent droughts to crops with low water demand and high drought resistance.

Dr. Tong Ngoc Thanh, General Director of the National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation, recommends: Effective and sustainable exploitation and use of water resources in the Central Highlands region should be based on the spirit of the Water Resources Law recently passed by the National Assembly. The Center coordinates with the Department of Water Resources Management (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) to deploy a decision support system and develop scenarios on incoming water resources. On that basis, develop water use plans for ministries, branches and localities to exploit and use in the direction of regulating, allocating effectively and optimizing water resources.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/muc-nuoc-ngam-tay-nguyen-dang-giam-nhanh-185240113141803308.htm