Ca Mau people donate flood prevention plans to receive thank you letters from Can Tho government

Flood prevention ideas are recognized

According to the Department of Construction of Can Tho City, after the Chairman of the City People's Committee called on people to contribute solutions to prevent flooding, this agency received more than 50 proposals from organizations, individuals, experts and scientists across the country.

One of the people who sent the idea was Mr. Pham Thanh Dong, residing in Bac Lieu ward (Ca Mau province). Mr. Dong said he had just received a thank you letter from the Department of Construction of Can Tho City. "The government's sending of a letter of appreciation in response shows openness and listening to the people's opinions. This made me very touched," Mr. Dong shared.

According to Mr. Dong, through the newspaper, he knew that Can Tho called for donations to prevent flooding, so he directly surveyed some severely flooded areas. He said the reason was not only due to high tides but also because the concreting process reduced water absorption, while the old sewer system was outdated.

The solution Mr. Dong proposed is to build acceptance holes and install electric pumping stations at locations where main sewers flow into rivers and canals, even in places where flooding has not occurred. These pumping stations can operate automatically, connecting to the phone application to save costs and human resources. The manhole is designed to be deeper and wider than the current sewer system to increase drainage speed during heavy rains, especially when the tide rises. At the same time, it is necessary to review the entire manhole system at intersections and road branches to renovate and make them more airy.

Mr. Dong said that raising roads, drainage or raising the house foundation is only temporary, costly and affects people's lives. The pumping station is more realistic, less impactful to the community. If the old infrastructure is still usable, it should be kept, digging it up to rebuild it will be very wasteful," he said.

A survey on Hoa Binh Street - one of the locally flooded areas in the center of Can Tho - Mr. Pham Thanh Dong proposed an immediate solution of installing a pumping station right at Xang Thoi Lake, discharging directly into Xang Thoi Canal. "This solution is low cost, quick construction, and can be handled right in this year's rainy season, especially in the 9th lunar month of the flood season," he affirmed.

In the long term, he proposed to build 5 more pumping stations at the foot of Ninh Kieu Bridge, Quang Trung Bridge, Hung Vuong Bridge, Cai Khe Canal Head and Cai Khe Canal Head, using vertical centrifuge pumps, with a flow rate of 3,000 - 5,000 m3/hour/ machine, operating smoothly, suitable for urban use. "The advantage is that if there is less water, it can still be pumped, if there is more water, the faster the pump is", he affirmed.

Mr. Dong emphasized that he does not accept fees or rewards if the initiative is applied. What he hopes for is an official rainfall figure to continue perfecting the solution.

The government calls for initiatives and commits to "hot" rewards

According to the Department of Construction of Can Tho City, in recent years, flooding in the central area of the city has tended to increase in intensity and scope, especially during the rainy and stormy season and high tides.

To overcome this, Can Tho will implement the City Development and Urban Resilience Enhancement Project (Project 3) with loans from the World Bank. The project focuses on controlling flooding and improving the environment for the core areas of Ninh Kieu and Binh Thuy with many items such as renovating 32 drainage routes; building a 6.14 km long Can Tho river embankment and a 3.6 km long Cai Son - Muong Khai canal embankment; building tidal culverts, boat docks, renovating 17 canals 16.35 km long; installing pumping stations and a modern PRMIS drainage management system.

However, to find the cause and completely resolve it, the government hopes to continue to listen to and absorb ideas and solutions from people, organizations, experts and scientists.

Previously, on July 4, at a meeting on the flooding situation of Can Tho City, Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Tran Van Lau called on departments, branches, sectors and localities to boldly propose solutions to solve the flooding problem. He pledged to "hotly" reward 50 million VND, and award a Certificate of Merit to the author of the effective flood prevention idea for the city in the immediate period.