Author(s): Nguyen Phuong Mai; Sameh Kantoush; Tetsuya Sumi; Tang Duc Thang; La Vinh Trung; Doan Van Binh
Linked Author(s): Tetsuya Sumi
Keywords: Saltwater intrusion; Upstream hydropower dams; Hydropower dam operation; Vietnam Mekong Delta
Abstract: It is reported that the construction of over 56 hydropower dams were completed along Mekong River (MR) and its tributaries before 2016. Among them, there are six operational hydropower dams allocated along the mainstream in the Upper Mekong basin in China. Because the total active capacity of six reservoirs is greater than 50% capacity of total dry volume into the delta in Kratie hydrological station, the dam operation is significantly affected the flow discharge in MR. This is caused by the water shortage in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) during dry season resulting in drought and salinity intrusion all over 50% area of the delta and total loss of VMD 7,900 billion in 2016. The paper studied the status and causes of drought and salinity intrusion taken placed in Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The research also identified the correlation between the flow at downstream of six dams with the inflow to the VMD. In addition, the moving time of flow from ChiangSaen to Kratie and from ChiangSaen to ChauDoc were 15 to 17 days and 17 to 19 days, respectively. Lastly, by proposing two scenarios of flow discharge at Kratie, the impacts on salinity concentration and the intrusion length at the estuaries of Vietnamese Mekong Delta were evaluated.
Year: 2018