Directive No. 42/2000/CT-BNNPTNT/QLN on Strengthening Maintenance, Repair Work, and Enhancing Measures to Ensure Safety of Water Reservoirs

 DIRECTIVE

Regarding the acceleration of repair and maintenance work

and strengthening measures to ensure safety for water reservoirs

Our country has constructed and put into operation thousands of water reservoirs. Among them, there are nearly 500 projects with dams over 10 meters high and capacities over 1 million cubic meters.³During the rainy season, these reservoirs must store water for irrigation while regulating to reduce flooding downstream. Alongside significant benefits, these reservoirs also pose risks if accidents occur. Therefore, ensuring the safety of reservoirs is always considered the top priority in management and operation to protect hydraulic works.

In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities have made efforts to upgrade, repair damages, and strengthen management and protection of reservoirs. Timely investment and enhanced management have contributed to ensuring the safety of projects, especially reservoirs in central Vietnam during the two historic floods in November and December 1999.

However, through inspection and monitoring, many reservoirs still suffer from damage or unresolved issues. The directive on ensuring the safety of reservoirs in some places has not been adequately prioritized by leadership, and flood prevention management at some reservoirs remains lax, leading to confusion and passivity in complex situations.

Based on the current situation of reservoirs and lessons learned from the two historic floods in central Vietnam, to ensure the safety of reservoirs in the face of increasingly complex and extreme weather conditions, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development requests People's Committees of provinces and cities, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, and units managing reservoirs to implement the following tasks effectively:

1. Water Resources Exploitation Companies shall be responsible for:

- Establishing and supplementing operational procedures for reservoirs and submitting them to competent authorities for approval, strictly implementing according to approved procedures.

- Inspecting and evaluating the current status of reservoirs. Repairing immediate damages threatening the safety of projects, particularly focusing on key structures (earth dams, spillways, intake structures). In cases where repairs cannot be completed before the rainy season, report to provincial and municipal People's Committees to reduce stored water levels or temporarily stop water accumulation. Reservoirs under repair must ensure compliance with approved schedules.

- Developing flood prevention plans to ensure project safety and submitting them to competent authorities for approval. Continuing to emphasize the principle of "four at the site"; particularly focusing on preparing reserve materials such as geotextiles, sandbags, steel cages, soil, gravel, hand tools...

- Each reservoir must necessarily establish emergency spillways and flood escape corridors to proactively release floodwaters in case of historic floods, promptly informing local authorities and residents, and preventing disasters affecting people and property downstream.

- Strictly organizing flood prevention activities including technical monitoring, weather forecasting, patrolling, and immediately addressing any incidents from the outset.

- Regularly providing information to higher-level state management agencies and local authorities. Strictly adhering to flood prevention duty shifts. Ensuring smooth communication channels.

2. Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development shall be responsible for:

- Advising provincial and municipal People's Committees on measures to ensure the safety of reservoirs within their jurisdictions. Reviewing operational procedures and flood prevention plans for reservoirs delegated to local management and submitting them to provincial People's Committees for approval.

- Organizing inspections of reservoir safety assurance within their jurisdictions. During the rainy season, assigning experienced technical staff to reinforce inspections in critical areas.

- Organizing training and exchanges to enhance the professional skills and implementation capabilities of reservoir managers, including self-managed reservoirs by local communities.

- Strictly adhering to flood prevention duty shifts.

3. Provincial and Municipal People's Committees shall be responsible for:

Ensuring the safety of water reservoirs within their jurisdictions in accordance with Article 23 of the Law on the Operation and Protection of Hydraulic Works. Particularly noteworthy:

- Inspecting, urging, and securing funds for the repair of reservoirs with capacities below 10 million cubic meters. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to invest in repairing reservoirs with capacities above 10 million cubic meters.

- Establishing flood control command posts at reservoirs to directly command and manage during the rainy season.

- Promptly mobilizing rescue forces when accidents occur to address project failures, ensuring project safety, and minimizing losses.

- Preparing plans to ensure the safety of residents in the lower reaches of projects in case of serious project risks.

4. The Water Management and Hydraulic Works Administration shall be responsible for:

- Continuously assisting the Ministry in directing the safety assurance of water reservoirs nationwide.

- Inspecting and urging localities to effectively implement legal documents on reservoir management and the contents of this directive.

- Adhering to flood prevention duty shifts to ensure project safety. Fully grasping information and promptly reporting to the Ministry.

Given the complex weather conditions, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development requires People's Committees of provinces and cities; Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Water Resources Exploitation Companies to strictly implement this directive.