Spending every drop of water for daily life
In communes in areas affected by saltwater intrusion in Dong Thap province, the living atmosphere of people has changed a lot. Familiar tools such as plastic tanks, cement tanks,... have stored fresh water.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khanh (resident of Tan Phu Dong commune, Dong Thap province) said: "In recent years, saltwater intrusion often occurs after the Lunar New Year, fresh water is increasingly difficult to find. My family is used to it, at the end of the rainy season, we clean up the tanks and tanks to store rainwater for gradual use. Domestic water must also be used economically, not daring to discharge freely as before.
According to Mr. Khanh, laundry detergent is used to water trees, minimizing washing cars and watering trees with clean water. "If you don't save money, it will be difficult to buy fresh water when it gets salty, if you have money," he said.
Not only Mr. Khanh's family, many other households in the region have also formed the habit of saving water every time the dry season comes. Besides living, agricultural production - especially fruit trees - is a field directly affected by the shortage of fresh water. To adapt, many gardeners have switched from overflowing irrigation to economical irrigation methods such as drip irrigation and spray irrigation.
Ms. Diep (resident of Thanh Phu commune, Dong Thap province), owner of a durian garden of more than 1ha, said that her family has a lot of experience in responding to saltwater intrusion. “Currently, my family has proactively stored fresh water in the pond to serve irrigation for fruit orchards when saltwater intrusion occurs,” Ms. Diep shared.
According to Ms. Diep, the sewer system in the area has been built closed. When saltwater intrudes, the sewers will be closed to protect fresh water sources. Inside the system, people proactively store fresh water, combined with using water from storage ponds to ensure irrigation needs. “Even when saltwater intrusion is prolonged, people's production is not greatly affected,” Ms. Diep added.
In addition, Ms. Diep said that another solution applied by many gardeners is to take advantage of post-harvest straw to cover fruit tree roots. Thick layers of straw are spread around the roots to help retain moisture, reduce water evaporation and limit weeds. Thanks to straw cover, the amount of irrigation water for the garden is reduced by about 30–40% compared to before, while plants still grow well. Especially, during prolonged hot spells, this measure is clearly effective.
Experts recommend saving water use
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Anh Tuan - Senior Lecturer of the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources (Can Tho University) - said that in the context of climate change and saltwater intrusion, saving and storing fresh water is no longer an option but has become a mandatory requirement.
If people do not proactively store water from the rainy season and use water economically, they will face many difficulties in daily life and agricultural production when saltwater intrusion occurs," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Anh Tuan assessed.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Anh Tuan, for domestic water, people need to proactively store rainwater in tanks, tanks, and ponds; use circulating water, reuse water for appropriate purposes and limit waste in daily life.
Regarding agricultural production, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Anh Tuan emphasized the role of measures to reduce water evaporation on the soil surface. “Taking advantage of straw and agricultural by-products to cover plant roots is a very effective solution, low cost but brings great benefits. This cover helps reduce soil temperature, limit water evaporation, and at the same time improve the soil in the long term,” Mr. Tuan said.
In addition, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Anh Tuan also recommended that farmers should apply economical irrigation methods such as drip irrigation, localized rain spraying; adjust the irrigation schedule accordingly, avoid irrigation during hot sunny weather, and combine digging ponds and inland ditches to store fresh water, proactively respond to drought and salinity in the coming time.
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