According to the Canh Tang Lake Management Board, when faced with storm No. 3, at 7:30 a.m. on July 22, the water level in the lake reached 71.6m - much lower than the designed water reserve (88.75m).
The project is designed according to very high standards, so there are currently no safety concerns.
Immediately after receiving instructions from superiors, the Lake Management Board activated an emergency response plan. All officers and employees are on duty 24/24 hours, continuously checking construction items and monitoring installation equipment.
"However, there are still people going to the lake to fish, swim, and swim in storms. Officials must regularly remind to ensure safety," said Mr. Tran Van Nguyen, Director of the Canh Tang Lake Management Board.
According to Mr. Le Van Truong, technical staff, continuous rain from July 19 to 23 caused the water level to rise rapidly after a few hours. With an area of over 14km2 and a basin of about 100km2, the water retention rate is considered fast, but is still within the safe limit.
"The amount of water flowing into the lake has increased rapidly in the past few hours, but it is not enough to put pressure on the safety coefficient of the project," said Mr. Truong.
The Canh Tang Lake project has a total investment of nearly 4,000 billion VND, located in Lac Son and Yen Thuy districts (old Hoa Binh), now Phu Tho province.
When completed, this will be the largest reservoir in the North and the 3rd in the country (after Dau Tieng Lake (old Tay Ninh province) and Ngan Truoi Lake (Ha Tinh province), with a capacity of nearly 95 million m3 (3 times more than Dai Lai Lake).
When put into operation, the project will have an impact and affect 12 communes of Phu Tho and Thanh Hoa. Of which, Phu Tho has 4 communes, Thanh Hoa has 8 communes (previously 35 communes of the two provinces of Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa before the merger).
In addition to supplying water to 90km2 of agricultural and industrial land, the lake also helps regulate floods, maintain the flow during the dry season, and develop aquaculture and eco-tourism.
Although it is being completed, the real-life drill in storm No. 3 shows a methodical, proactive and effective management system. Canh Tang Lake is not only an irrigation project, but also a natural disaster shield, a driving force for sustainable development of the midlands and mountainous areas of the North.
Construction started in 2017 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022. However, the Canh Tang reservoir project encountered many problems with site clearance capital during the construction process, leading to a delay of more than 3 years.
Up to this point, the new lake has only started to accumulate water for the first time and is in the final stages of completing the items, ensuring the inauguration schedule on the occasion of August 19.
