The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has denied their own responsibility in the shortage of water in rivers, passing the buck to authorities of hydropower plants.

Le Ke Son, vice chief of the Vietnam Environment Administration under the ministry, told attendees of last week's meeting in Hanoi that the release of water in the lower reaches of rivers by hydropower plants is well researched to ensure the lives and productivity of locals. He said, however, that the plants’ authorities have failed to comply with regulations, which has led to the recent deficiency of water for agriculture.

“Not all managers of hydropower projects strictly conform to regulations,” Son added.

Before the construction of any hydropower plant, the project must be approved by local and central authorities, who assess the environmental impacts of these projects. Those small- and medium-scale projects which show no detriment to national forests and special forest and cultural heritage sites are licensed by provincial authorities. Others must get a nod from The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Many plants’ authorities accumulate water in the summer when the water level is low and release water in the winter when the level is high, causing droughts and flash floods to locals in the lower reaches, Son explained.

Central authorities have conducted regular inspections on the issue, he noted. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has reminded the plants of the matter.

Regardless of the regulations that are intended to quell the damage, locals and authorities of the localities in the lower reaches of hydropower plants in the Central Highlands and central region have suffered droughts for many years since the projects went into operation.

Hydropower projects such as the Upper Kon Tum on Dak Snghe and Dak Bla Rivers, An Khe – Ka Nak on Ba River, Dak Mi 4 on Vu Gia and Thu Bon Rivers, and tens of other projects have dried up rivers in the central region.

Authorities of Danang city and Quang Nam, Gia Lai, and Phu Yen provinces have lodged complaints to the Prime Minister to demand that these plants pay back the water they have taken.

In the southern province of Dong Nai, two hydropower projects, Dong Nai 6 and 6A, have warranted complaints from locals, though the plans are still just on paper.

The People’s Committee of Dong Nai has proposed to remove the projects from the locality.

A section of nearly 80km of Vu Gia - Thu Bon river is dried up by Dak Mi 4 hydropower plant (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Before, vast areas of Quang Nam, Gia Lai, and Phu Yen provinces, as well as Da Nang City, were left with droughts during dry season and floods in the rainy season. The river beds on which reservoirs of hydropower plants are located have dried up, causing disorder to the ecosystem and the environment of the region.

Thanks to the exhaustion of water past the An Khe reservoir in the lower reaches of Ba River, the river bed has become a working place for locals to sift for gold, causing the contamination to become more severe.

In addition, the transfer of water from this river to other rivers causes great hydrological disorder and badly affects the ecosystem of a vast area.

Tran Trung Thanh, deputy director of the Central Highlands Hydrometeorology Station, told Tuoi Tre that the transfer of water from river to river is taboo in hydrology.

In some countries, the destruction of hydropower plants is accepted because the value of electricity generation from these plants is lower than the environmental value, he added.