After reporting on the landslide situation at Dau Tieng Lake, Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited established an inspection team to coordinate with authorities to verify the reality.
Dau Tieng Lake is a particularly important irrigation project in the provinces of Tay Ninh, Dong Nai (formerly Binh Phuoc) and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Binh Duong). The lake was built in 1981, operated since 1985, with a designed capacity of 1.58 billion cubic meters and a surface area of about 270 square km. The lake serves many purposes, from water regulation, power generation to agricultural production.
According to the inspection results, the landslide area is located in the lake, below the elevation of +24.4 m, about 11 km from the cluster of the focal works, not on the legal land of the people but on spontaneous cultivated areas. The inspection team confirmed that no sand mining equipment operating outside the licensed boundary had been discovered. Sand mining at the lake is currently managed by 21 units, all of which must comply with regulations on scope, time, wharf, surveillance camera and exploitation means.
The assessment of the professional agency shows that the cause of landslides is mainly objective. The affected area has locally steep terrain, weak gray soil, combined with heavy rain and the flow to the lake causing erosion. Local people confirmed that landslides often occur during the rainy season, with big waves being the main cause, not directly related to sand dredgers.
The Southern Irrigation Company emphasizes strengthening inspection and supervision of sand mining activities in lakes, coordinating with local authorities and departments. The results of the October 2025 inspection at the Dau Tieng - Phuoc Hoa Branch did not detect any serious violations affecting the safety of the project or water quality. Exploiting enterprises commit to comply with the license, comply with positioning and supervision according to regulations.
Deputy Director of Ho Dau Tieng Nguyen Huu Manh said that landslides occur every year, on average each year the lake bank slides 1-2 m, nearly 10 km long in weak soil locations. He proposed re-establishing an interdisciplinary team to monitor sand exploitation and invest in data infrastructure, such as surveillance cameras, boat positioning systems, connection of weighing stations and upgrading transmission infrastructure, to protect irrigation works and manage lake surfaces more effectively.
