Ham Thuan hydro dam has no water for the past monthsViet Nam is suffering a severe shortage of water – not for the first time. But never before has the drought been as obvious as now. And it is not a localised problem, the whole country is affected.

Ham Thuan hydro dam has no water for the past months


Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held intense discussions earlier this year on the release of water from hydroelectric reservoirs to irrigate crops in the north.

The EVN said that after 2.9 billion cubic metres of water was released for irrigation its three biggest reservoirs – Hoa Binh, Thac Ba and Tuyen Quang – were now close to empty, despite the fact that less reservoir water was used for irrigation than in previous years.

Water levels are alarmingly low in major rivers in the central region. Stretches of the Tra Khuc and Ve rivers in Quang Ngai Province are completely dry.

Meanwhile, in HCM City and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta droughts have led to salt-water intrusion, which has damaged crops and given tap water a slightly salty taste.

The worsening water crisis has forced the Government to scrap its ad hoc approach to the problem and come up with a long-term strategy.

The Law on Water Resources is being amended to conserve supplies, while the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is drafting regulations governing minimum water levels in rivers and discharges from reservoirs during the dry season.

Tran Hong Thai, deputy director of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environment, said a return to the historic droughts of last March might be felt again this year.

Koos Neefjes, the United Nations Development Programme's policy advisor on climate change, said the lack of water was now a "fact of life."

"The whole system has to understand that droughts will become more frequent and will only get worse," he said.

The UN expert called on Viet Nam to improve the efficiency of using water resources, saying the task was now "more urgent than ever".

Thai said that contrary to popular belief, Viet Nam did not have now abundant water resources, and supplies were not evenly distribute across the country.

Some parts of the country, such as the south-centre, have far less water than other regions.

Meanwhile, about 75 per cent of the country's rainfall occurs during the rainy season, which last less than half a year.

"Climate change has even made the situation worse by increasing the amount of rainfall by 15 per cent in rainy season and reducing it by 15 per cent during the dry season last year," Thai said.

The construction of hydro-power dams in upstream countries such as China has also affected Viet Nam's water resources, given the fact that up to 60 per cent of the country's water is sourced outside the country.

The so-called El Nino effect, erosion of river banks and the improper use of surface and underground water have all contributed to worsening water shortages, he said.

At the same time, Neefjes said demand for water had increased.

The EVN is under pressure to boost power supplies by about 20 per cent annually. Hydro-power stations produce 35 per cent of the country's energy.

Dang Duy Hien, deputy director of MARD's Irrigation Department, said water demand for crops had increased as demand for food had risen.

He said inefficient use of water by farmers had aggravated the problem.

"We are wasting water. In developed countries, if agricultural land receives 100 cubic metres of water, farmers use between 80-90 per cent of it, whereas in Viet Nam, just 50-70 per cent is used," Hien said.

Pham Binh Quyen, Sustainable Environment Development Institute director, said the country needs to manage its water resources more intelligently.

Neefjes said the price of water was far too low and failed to effect the real value of this natural resource.

"Compared to the rest of the world, water in Viet Nam is extremely cheap. If water companies lack the necessary financial resources, they will be unable to improve the situation. They will not be able to invest in new pipes to prevent water losses, or clean the water properly," he said.

Thai said income from water in other countries usually made up 7-10 per cent of the gross domestic product, whereas in Viet Nam, it was only 1 per cent.

Neefjes said the Government should find ways to encourage farmers and the public conserve water.

The Law on Water Resources, which took effect in 1998, is being amended to conserve supplies.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is taking steps to set minimum river water levels, Thai said.

Regulations governing the management of reservoirs during the dry season are also being drafted to minimise the effects of drought.

"Viet Nam is going in the right direction," Neefjes said.

However, he said the Government should develop clean energy.

He also said the public should be encouraged to produce their own energy, which could be sold to the national grid.

"If I put solar panels on my house's roof in Ha Noi, I can only use it for myself. So whenever I'm not at home, my electricity will be wasted. If I produce my own electricity, it might be a bit more expensive, but that cost would be off set if I sold the surplus to the EVN," he said.

Neefjes added that the water price should also be adjusted. He also said crops that required less water should also be grown.

"Some crops need more water than others. Rice is desirable but it uses a lot of water," he said.

In the wake of a major water shortage in Viet Nam, Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) will do its best to maintain adequate power supplies, says EVN deputy director general Dang Hoang An during a discussion with Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper.

2010 was a difficult year for the energy sector, yet it still showed an impressive growth rate. Could you elaborate further?

The most significant challenge we faced last year was the shortage of water to operate hydro-power plants. It would be fair to say that in 2010, Viet Nam suffered from the worst natural disasters, including drought, in the past 100 years.

The drought left hydro-power plant reservoirs nation-wide short of water, with only 38.6 billion cubic metres of water retained – equivalent to about 6 billion kWh.

Due to the water shortage, we were unable to run the plants at their full capacity and as a result, we had a serious power shortage last year, especially during the dry season.

In addition, electricity production at some of the new coal-fired power plants in the north faced technical operational problems which led to temporary closure for repairs.

Despite all these difficulties and challenges, under the leadership of the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and support from electricity sector leaders and workers, we were able to gain remarkable success in 2010.

In 2010, the EVN produced 97.25 billion kWh – an increase of 3.87 kWh over the target, or an increase of 14.63 per cent against 2009.

On average, we supplied 981,000 kWh per capita in 2010. At present, the EVN sells electricity directly to more than 17,375 million users throughout the country.

In 2010, it invested almost VND60 trillion (US$3.1 billion) to construct power plants - an increase of 24.5 per cent against the previous year.

By late last year, 100 per cent of all districts in Viet Nam were connected to the national or local grids, which accounted for 98.4 per cent of communes and nearly 96 per cent of households being equipped with electric lighting – surpassing the target by 5.9 per cent.

Another 2010 achievement worth mentioning was a regulation diverting 3.5 billion cubic metres of water from the Hoa Binh, Thac Ba and Tuyen Quang hydro-power reservoirs to irrigate rice fields.

The EVN in 2010 also made great achievements in social responsibility by building houses for needy families, granting scholarships to poor students, buying health insurance cards for poor pupils, and other activities. In total, we spent about VND19.3 billion ($990,000) on corporate social responsibility activities.

EVN's 2010 achievements were highly appreciated but the frequent blackouts made people unhappy. How do you respond?

In 2010, the imbalance between supply and demand led to power cuts, particularly in the late dry season.

Various reasons lead to the power shortage, particularly in the dry season but the most critical contributor is the shortage of investment capital. The existing electricity price does not fully cover the costs. This is a factor hindering the EVN from mobilising capital for further investment and also does not encourage consumers to conserve electricity.

I must also concede that there were some administrative problems, including the blackout timetable and the settlement of customer complaints and petitions. Leaders in the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the EVN met several times to discuss solutions to these issues. We hope that in 2011, things will be better and we promise to be transparent and accountable in our corporate performance.

EVN leaders have said many times that the country will face electricity shortages in 2011. Does the corporation have any plans in place to cope with the problem?

The EVN is forecast to produce about 117.6 billion kWh in 2011, including about 56.14 billion kWh during the six-month dry season - an increase of 18.3 per cent compared with 2010 (which was about 8.69 billion kWh). These figures bespeak of the imbalance between supply and demand, particularly in the dry season.

In addition, decreasing water levels in the reservoirs due to drought has caused a big problem for hydro-power plants. It is forecast that we will be short some 12.9 billion cubic metres in 2011 – the equivalent of 3 billion kWh. This is the country's biggest water shortage so far. If water in the reservoirs reach the "death mark", there is no way the generators can operate.

This challenge has added to the demand to increase electricity tariffs. No doubt, during the dry season the EVN will have to increase the production of fire-powered electricity plants, including oil and gas as well as coal to 3.8 billion kWh.

We hope one of the key solutions to the problem will be strong support from the people and enterprises by conserving power. It is calculated that about 10 billion kWh can be saved if everyone switches off the lights and equipment that are not in use.

On the other hand, the EVN will try to negotiate power imports from other countries in accordance with instructions from the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade while trying to speed up construction of six power plants with the hope of connecting them to the national grid by this June for an additional 1.058 MW of power.

We are currently developing various scenarios for electricity supply in the 2011 dry season.

Source: VNA/Tuoitrenews