Farmers need emergency aid as Mekong falls
 
Vientiane Times, 23 Feb 2010
 
Seven irrigation projects on the Mekong River in Vientiane are
encountering insufficient water inflow because the river level is
falling more rapidly than usual, an official said on Friday.
 
A pumping station in Pafang village, Hadxaifong district, irrigates
local rice fields. This station has not yet been affected by the rapid
decrease in the Mekong as the river here is deep.
 
Some 3,680 hectares of rice fields in Hadxaifong and Pakngum districts
irrigated by the seven irrigation systems are affected by the rapid
decrease in the level of the river, said a technical official from the
Vientiane Irrigation Division, who asked not to be named.
 
“The situation in these two districts is deemed to be at crisis level.
The drop in the river level is the most serious ever recorded,” he
told Vientiane Times.
 
The river is dropping at an average rate of about 10 centimetres per
day, he said, adding that the water level had been falling
continuously since early this month.
 
The situation is particularly serious at two irrigation projects - one
in Don and the other in Mark-hiew village in Pakngum district.
Officials have been digging to deepen the channels and release water
into the pumping station since December, and are still doing so.
 
Though these seven stations are still operational, they are unable to
run at full capacity due to the insufficient inflow of water, the
official said.
 
“The tubes of the pump at some stations reach underground beneath the
water. We are currently deepening the channels,” he said.
 
Looking towards a long-term solution, on Friday the division submitted
a report on the situation, together with a possible solution, to the
Vientiane mayor and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
 
The division proposed to form a committee to look into the issue. It
also asked for the sum of 632 million kip to dig channels through the
exposed riverbed to allow water to flow into the pumping stations.
 
An additional 915 million kip is needed to move the pumping stations
as the water level falls, he said, adding that this was only the
initial amount proposed.
 
Generally, the river is at its lowest in April and May so the
situation could get even worse.
 
“If action is not taken quickly, this dry season's rice production
could be affected,” he said. In 40 to 50 days from now, the paddy rice
will have the most urgent need for water.
 
Furthermore, the official continued, if the Mekong falls by another
30-50 centimetres, the total 39 irrigation projects in the five
riverside districts of the capital will suffer.
 
This will mean that the districts of Sangthong, Sikhottabong and
Sisattanak will also encounter problems with their rice crops. As much
as 9,135 hectares of rice, irrigated by the 39 projects, could be
affected in total.
 
Khammuan provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department Deputy
Director, Mr Viengkham Xayaphone, said the province had not yet
received any reports of irrigation projects on the river being
affected in the same way.
 
Mr Viengkham noted that the level of the Mekong in Khammuan was at
normal levels. He attributed this to the fact that there are several
tributaries flowing into the Mekong upstream of the province.
 
Last year, irrigation systems in Khammuan suffered from a similar drop
in the level of the Mekong .