The water discharged from China’s Jinghong Hydropower Station is expected to reach the Mekong Delta region in 19 days, according to Dong Van Tu, head of the Water Resource Directorate’s department of irrigation and dam safety.

While the people and leaders of the Mekong Delta provinces are pleased that China decided to release from hydropower dams, irrigation experts said that most of the flow will be blocked before it runs to Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Aside from natural forces like climate change, countries’ actions have worsened the drought and salinity in Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said nearly 300,000 households lost their income in recent months or were affected by drought and saltwater intrusion, the worst in the Mekong Delta in the last 100 years.

 A total of 11 provinces in the Mekong Delta and Central Highland regions have announced an emergency state of drought and saline intrusion, reported Nhan dan newspaper.

This year’s historic drought and saltwater intrusion have been mostly caused by the extreme El Nino weather phenomenon. If the 11 hydropower dams in Mekong upriver become operational, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta will bear a ‘double disaster’.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly 100 km away from estuary, Can Tho – the largest city in the Mekong Delta – is still affected by salty water as saline intrusion is the worst in decades in Vietnam’s southwestern region.

Environmentalists and economists have recommended that Vietnam not only call for support from the governments of countries up the Mekong River, but also take action to rescue the delta. 

 Vietnam will need VND34 trillion (US$1.5 billion) to deal with the heavy damage caused by drought and saltwater intrusion, according to the Department of Crop Production.  

 VietNamNet Bridge - Visitors at Dong Thap province in the Mekong Delta will be amazed at the immense plains, blooming lotus ponds, the flower village of Sa Dec and the Lai Vung pink mandarin gardens.

VietNamNet Bridge – The eight provinces in the southern region of Vietnam, including Ben Tre, Kien Giang, Long An, Tien Giang, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Vinh Long, and Tra Vinh have been declared areas faced with natural disaster (drought and salinity).

 VietNamNet Bridge - Early in the morning, boats carrying the special dishes of southern Vietnam gather on the floating market of Cai Rang to serve tourists.

VietNamNet Bridge – With a labyrinth of rivers and canals, the Mekong Delta is rich in fish and other aquatic products. Therefore, local people dry fish to make it a specialty of the region, which tourists often buy as a gift for family and friends.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Khmer in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have inherited Angkor culture with influences from the local wet rice civilization and Chinese and Cham ethnic groups. But they have developed a distinctive musical treasure,

 VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of hectares of rice fields in the southern region of Vietnam have been damaged by saltwater intrusion and the most severe drought in 100 years. Farmers are crying about their huge losses, caused by natural disasters.

VietNamNet Bridge - The saltwater intrusion and widespread drought have left millions of people of the south, central region and the Central Highlands in danger because of serious water shortages.

 VietNamNet Bridge – As the biggest natural lake in the Mekong Delta, Thi Tuong Lagoon in the southern province of Ca Mau has earned a reputation as "a sea on plains".

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam plans to allocate big budgets to develop waste water drainage systems in urban areas in recent years. However, the systems’ conditions remain poor which still cause pollution because of low drainage capacity.

 VietNamNet Bridge – New air services linking the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and other parts of the nation have helped send visitors to the region surging, heard a media briefing in Can Tho last week.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Tan Binh wholesale market specializing in garments and textiles in the district of the same name in HCMC has entered its peak business season as the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, has 12 days to go.