The Ba River, which flows through An Khe town, has dried up. Photo: Hong Diep/ VNA
According to the People’s Committee of Gia Lai province, the Ba River plays a very important role and has a significant impact on the lives of its residents. Since the An Khe-Ka Nat hydropower plant began operating in 2012, the water flow to Binh Dinh province has been blocked, and the water discharge in An Khe town has dropped to less than 4m3/s, causing severe water shortages in the Ba River section that runs through the town.
Not only has the riverbed dried up in the section flowing through An Khe town, but the Ba River has also stopped flowing. This has greatly impacted the supply of water for domestic use and irrigation for thousands of hectares of agricultural land, as well as affected its role in climate regulation and landscape creation for the An Khe town area.
To “rescue” the Ba River from its “dying” state, the Gia Lai provincial government has submitted a plan for the development of infrastructure for disaster prevention, climate change adaptation, and irrigation for the period of 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050. This plan includes a proposal to “Study and construct a system of water-retaining dams on the Ba River section flowing through An Khe town to provide water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use, improve the environment, and promote socio-economic development in An Khe town.”
The proposed dams will have three concrete spillways, each with a height of 5-6 meters and an average width of 150 meters, at a total investment cost of VND 350 billion. The project will ensure sufficient water supply for domestic and agro-industrial production, improve the environment, and boost the socio-economic development of An Khe town.
The An Khe-Kanak Hydropower Plant, with a total capacity of 173MW, was constructed in 2005. According to its design, the plant has two levels. Level 1 diverts water from the Ba River to the Kanak reservoir, which has a capacity of more than 285 million m3 (in Kbang district, Gia Lai province), to operate the Kanak power plant.
At Level 2, the water is discharged into the An Khe reservoir with a capacity of 5.6 million m3 (in An Khe town). This water is then transported through a pipeline across the An Khe pass to operate the An Khe Hydropower Plant (in Tay Son district, Binh Dinh province). Finally, the water is released into the Cat stream, which flows into the Con River.
By not releasing water back into the Ba River, the lives of about one million people in six districts and towns of Gia Lai province and five districts and cities of Phu Yen province have been severely affected.
