Every year, after the Lunar New Year, saline intrusion and drought will attack localities in the East of Tien Giang province. Prolonged salinity leads to a lack of fresh water for people living in some communes in Go Cong Dong district.
Regarding the above issue, speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters on November 6, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thinh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang province - said: To cope with drought and salinity in the eastern region of Tien Giang province, the locality plans to build two reservoirs in the period of 2026-2030. Accordingly, the canals and ditches in the fields will be utilized to expand and invest in building freshwater reservoirs.
In Go Cong Tay district, investment will be made to expand Go Gua canal, and in Go Cong city, investment will be made to expand Ram Ve canal to create 2 freshwater reservoirs.
According to Mr. Thinh, if the two freshwater reservoir projects are invested in, about 3.5 million cubic meters of freshwater will be stored for irrigation and daily life for people in the eastern part of the province when drought and salinity occur.
"In the near future, the department will organize a workshop to evaluate the above two projects. Then propose and submit them to the competent authority for investment and capital allocation for implementation in the period 2026 - 2030," said Mr. Thinh.
According to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, in early April 2024, canals and streams in Tan Dien commune (Go Cong district, Tien Giang province) began to dry up, the water source under the canal was contaminated with salt, and there was a shortage of fresh water in some areas. At this time, the local government immediately arranged many free public water taps to serve the people. In addition, organizations and philanthropists also transported water to help people overcome the drought.
Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung (residing in Tan Dien commune, Go Cong Dong district, Tien Giang province) - said that every year, after Tet, there is a drought and salinity here. Although people store rainwater, the prolonged drought and salinity still cause a shortage of fresh water for use.
“At the beginning of April 2024, the local water pipeline was not connected to the provincial water pipeline, so when the drought and salinity occurred, the water supply of the local water station was exhausted. Therefore, people here lacked water for daily life.
I hope that in the near future, the government will connect pipelines to provide water for daily life to the people. At the same time, invest in building freshwater reservoirs nearby to serve agricultural production and daily life" - Mr. Hung said.
Mr. Truong Van Thuong (residing in Tan Dien commune, Go Cong Dong district, Tien Giang province) said: To adapt, people living with drought and salinity here need to store fresh water. Therefore, he hopes that the government will soon invest in reservoirs so that when drought and salinity occur, there will be enough water to serve agricultural production and people's daily life.
