Drilling wells to get groundwater for agricultural cultivation
In October, according to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters in the vegetable and flower fields in Thuong Cat ward (Hanoi), many farmers here said that they had to drill wells to get groundwater to maintain agricultural production.
Mr. Nguyen Van Suot - a farmer living in Thuong Cat ward - said that in the past, water from the Red River could be pumped into the fields, making irrigation more convenient. However, in recent years, surface water sources have been polluted, canals have been filled in, and the water supply system has not been able to operate. With no water, he had to spend money to drill wells and install pumps to get groundwater to water vegetables and crops.
According to Mr. Suot, a well he hired someone to drill 3 years ago cost about 14 million VND. Although expensive, without drilling wells to get groundwater, the trees will die and cannot be cultivated for agricultural production.
Similarly, Ms. Ha Thi Hang (residing in Thuong Cat ward, Hanoi) shared: "Currently, the canal is not renovated, and there is no irrigation water for cultivation. Therefore, I had to drill wells to have irrigation water for agricultural production".
"Due to weak drainage system, canals are clogged. When it rains, flooding occurs, and in the dry season, there is no water for irrigation. Therefore, to cultivate agricultural production, I have to drill wells to get groundwater to water vegetables and grow flowers," said Ms. Hang.
Ms. Hang hopes that the State will renovate the irrigation system, taking water from the Red River to serve agricultural cultivation.
Mr. Le Van Hong - a farmer living in Phu Thuong ward (Hanoi) said that his family's cultivated land area under Nhat Tan bridge is far from the Red River, so his family drilled a well to get groundwater to water for crops.
According to Mr. Hong, the reason he chose to drill wells to get underground water is because the distance from the Red River if the power line of a motorbike is pumped in is not convenient.
Regarding the above issue, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters have contacted the People's Committee of Thuong Cat Ward (Hanoi City) and the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hanoi City. However, the units asked reporters to send questions to prepare the content of the answers in advance. After more than 7 days since sending the document, the reporter has not yet received an official response.
Prolonged use of groundwater will increase the risk of subsidence
Mr. Pham Thanh Tung - Chief of Office of the Vietnam Association of Architects - said: the agricultural area of Hanoi City depends on rivers including the Red River, Nhue River, Cau River and Day River. However, currently, the surface water from these rivers has not been functioning well, leading to water for irrigation, partly due to water pollution, partly due to the degraded irrigation system leading to agricultural production areas.
In addition, the rapid urbanization process has caused many real estate projects to "grow up" but the locality has not paid due attention to the irrigation system serving agricultural production. As a result, there is a dry season without irrigation water, forcing people to drill wells to exploit groundwater to maintain production, while the rainy season often causes flooding in agricultural areas.
Mr. Tung warned that exploiting groundwater for agricultural cultivation for a long time can cause land subsidence and water pollution, while affecting the security of the city's groundwater.
According to Mr. Tung, Hanoi needs to urgently build a digital map of drainage and water shortage areas, as a basis for planning, investing in a synchronous irrigation system to serve irrigation and drainage. Along with that, it is necessary to invest in water pumping stations to prevent flooding, minimize groundwater exploitation to avoid the risk of subsidence, and increase the use of surface water from rivers to serve agricultural production.
