This picture taken on March 8, 2016 shows a family looking for fish in a nearly dry canal in the Long Phu district in the southern Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang. (Photo provided to China News Service)
"For farmers in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, being given one cubic meter of water now is much more precious than two tons of gold," one local Vietnamese news story said recently.
The information that water discharged from the upper Mekong River has arrived in Vietnam to help alleviate both drought and saline intrusion in the country has drawn great attention both domestically and globally lately.
"The best news of the day is that fresh water has arrived." " I am so happy." "I am a farmer in Soc Trang province (a locality in Vietnam's Mekong River Delta region) and I couldn't be more delighted," So read some of the comments in the local VNExpress online newspaper, after the news broke that the water level in the Mekong River in Vietnam had risen.
Since late 2015, countries along the Lancang-Mekong River,
including Vietnam, have suffered from drought to varying extents due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon.
However, China releasing an emergency water supply from its Jinghong Hydropower Station in the southwest Yunnan Province to feed the downstream Mekong River between March 15 and April 10, helped to greatly alleviate the devastating drought situation.
"It's such good news. I cried when I heard the news. I have been waiting for this information everyday even though I live in northern Vietnam," commented Luong Huy said on VNExpress.
Dat Nguyen, another reader wrote "I am so happy for our people. I hope that it will help reduce the crop losses for all the farmers."
Nguyen Van Tinh, deputy director of the Water Resource Directorate, under Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, told local media on Monday that since April 3, water discharged from the upper Mekong River has arrived in Vietnam.
According to initial calculations, water from the upper Mekong is expected to help drive saltwater back towards the sea by around 10 to 20 km, Bao Tin Tuc, an online edition of Vietnam's state-run news agency, quoted Tinh as saying on Monday.
The directorate has requested localities to focus resources on receiving and storing the water effectively, and to actively maintain water sources in canals and reservoirs, Tinh said.
At first, the water will be prioritized for local residents' daily activities, such as drinking water for livestock, as well as for farms with trees and fruit trees of high economic value.
Thereafter, the water will be distributed responsibly for other crops, Tinh said.
Earlier, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hailed China's move on discharging water from the Jinghong Hydropower Station, saying it was a positive move.
Minh also said that after China's altruistic move, Laos followed by example and also released water from its dams, helping to increase the water level in the Mekong River.
