The groundbreaking ceremony for the Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant project in Kon Tum Province

Agriculture and environment authorities on Friday called for changes in the operation of hydropower dams to ensure better irrigation and flooding management.

The province hopes to produce more than 6.5 billion kilowatt-hours a year from the 58 projects, 10 major ones receiving approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and provincial authorities giving the nod to 48 smaller ones.

So far, six of the projects have become operational, and nine are under construction, the conference heard.

The conference, attended by officials from the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, and Industry and Trade, was the first held to discuss impacts and operation of hydropower dams.

It was called after the public and several officials blamed water discharge by some plants for worsening floods caused by typhoons in the area in recent months, newswire Dan Tri reported.

Officials at the conference said the operation of hydropower plant reservoirs should be adjusted to ensure enough water for irrigation during the dry season and mitigating flooding impacts during the rainy season.

Nguyen Duc Hai, secretary of the Quang Nam party unit, said the hydropower plant projects “suit” the government’s policy on national energy security, but have started to show negative impacts.

The impacts had to do with the operation of reservoirs, resettlement of the displaced and security of residents living downstream from the plants, he said.

The 150 million cubic meters of water released by the A Vuong Hydropower Plant during storm Ketsana in September has been widely blamed for worsening flooding that killed at least 163 people and caused over VND14 trillion (US$786 million) worth of damage to property.

Speakers pointed out that the projects had adversely affected agricultural cultivation and drastically reduced forest cover in the province. People who lost their land to the projects have been relocated to areas that could not support subsistence, they added.

Official figures showed that the development of just 5 hydropower plants have displaced more than 1,700 families and cleared 11,500 hectares of forest.

Plant operators have focused efforts only on ensuring safety of the plants themselves and not of others affected by the dams, officials said at the conference.

They suggested that the plant managers cooperate with local authorities, especially hydrometeorology forecasting agencies, to ensure both personal safety and livelihood security of residents in the surrounding areas.

The plants should inform local residents in advance of water discharges, the officials said.

A Vuong Hydroelectric Joint Stock Co., which manages A Vuong, only gave authorities one hour’s advance notice before it began discharging water in September, instead of the mandated six hours.

Source: Thanh Nien