Chapter V
PREVENTION OF, RESPONSE TO AND RECOVERY FROM DAMAGE CAUSED BY WATER
Article 61. Responsibility and obligation to prevent, respond to and recover and damage caused by water
1. Regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals have the responsibility and obligation to participate in preventing, responding to and recovering damage caused by water under regulations of this Law and other relevant regulations of law.
2. Ministries, ministerial agencies and People’s Committees at all levels shall, within their jurisdiction, decide and organize the implementation of measures to prevent, respond to and recover and damage caused by water.
Article 62. Prevention of, response to and recovery from water-related damage caused by natural disasters
The prevention of, response to and recovery from damage caused by floods, inundations, sea level rise, hails, acid rain and other water-related damage caused by natural disasters shall comply with regulations of law on flood control system, law on natural disaster management and other relevant regulations of law.
Article 63. Prevention and control of droughts, storage scarcity, floods, inundations, artificial flooding
1. The State invests in and encourages organizations and individuals to invest in building water storage facilities and finding water sources to proactively respond to droughts and water scarcity; build, improve and restore lakes, ponds and other structures having the functions of water supply, regulation, prevention and control of artificial flooding; prioritize the utilization of pits for minerals, soil and building materials after the mining is done and satisfy regulations of law on environmental protection, law on minerals and other relevant regulations of law to turn them into reservoirs in service of water regulation, storage and supply, and landscape creation.
2. The State prioritizes the adoption of comprehensive rainwater storage and drainage solutions to minimize urban flooding.
3. Urban planning, planning for construction of urban areas, high density residential areas, tourism areas, industrial parks, economic zones, export-processing zones, industrial clusters and traffic planning must be formulated in a manner that restricts the repurposing of special-use forests, watershed protection forests, lake, pond and lagoon reclamation, and introduces solutions for storing and draining rainwater to avoid artificial flooding.
4. The covering of rivers, streams, canals and ditches shall be minimized to maintain the water drainage capacity, reduce artificial flooding and protect aquatic ecosystems.
5. The State prioritizes the investment in construction of water regulation and storage facilities in areas frequently hit by droughts, water scarcity, saltwater intrusion, floods and inundations to ensure safety upon control of flood, drought and salinity.
6. It is required to include lakes, ponds and lagoons having the functions of water regulation and supply, flooding prevention and control, landscape and environment creation, protection and preservation of religious activities, practices of folk beliefs, cultural values and biodiversity in the list of lakes, ponds and lagoons prohibited from reclamation and announce it for management and protection.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall compile, announce and adjust the list of lakes, ponds and lagoons prohibited from reclamation with respect to lakes, ponds and lagoons belonging to inter-provincial surface water sources. Provincial People’s Committees shall compile, announce and adjust lists of lakes, ponds and lagoons prohibited from reclamation with respect to lakes, ponds and lagoons belonging to intra-provincial surface water sources.
7. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall provide hydrometeorological and water resources forecasts and warnings under its authority; make real-time zoning maps of drought and water scarcity risk prone areas on digital platform, direct and supervise the implementation of the plan to regulate and distribute water resources specified in Article 35 and Article 36 of this Law.
8. The Minister of Construction shall promulgate national technical regulation on construction planning and national regulation on technical infrastructure to increase the capacity for absorbing, storing and draining rainwater, ensuring groundwater recharge and flooding prevention.
9. The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Construction shall, within their jurisdiction, maintain the water drainage capacity to avoid hindering the flow or causing flooding in river basins during the process of designing and building traffic infrastructure.
10. The Government shall elaborate clause 6 of this Article.
Article 64. Saltwater intrusion prevention and control
1. The State invests in and encourages organizations and individuals to invest in the construction of saltwater prevention and freshwater retention works to proactively respond to droughts, water scarcity and saltwater intrusion; give priority to projects to plant protection forests for wave prevention in areas frequently hit by saltwater intrusion.
2. The exploration and exploitation of groundwater in the delta and coastal areas must ensure the prevention and control of saltwater intrusion into aquifers.
3. The exploitation of seawater for socio-economic development must not cause salinization of water sources.
4. Organizations and individuals exploiting and using water resources for agricultural production and aquaculture must take measures to prevent and control water source salinization.
5. The management and operation of saltwater prevention and freshwater retention works, reservoirs and water regulation works must comply with procedures, standards and technical regulations, and ensure the prevention and control of saltwater intrusion.
6. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Construction and provincial People’s Committees shall, within their jurisdiction, organize the implementation of saltwater intrusion prevention and control measures by relying on the water source scenario and plan to regulate and distribute water resources as specified in clauses 4 and 7 Article 25 and clause 1 Article 36 of this Law.
Article 65. Land subsidence prevention and control
1. Organizations and individuals carrying out activities specified in clause 1 Article 31 of this Law must comply with relevant standards and technical regulations and avoid causing land subsidence.
In the event that land subsidence occurs, immediately suspend the exploration and exploitation of groundwater, take remedial measures and notify the People's Committee of the area where such land subsidence occurs; if any damage is caused, provide compensation and bear responsibility as prescribed by law.
2. In areas where land subsidence occurs or prone to land subsidence due to the exploration or exploitation of groundwater, the provincial People’s Committee shall zone off areas prohibited and restricted from groundwater exploitation.
3. The land subsidence prevention and control shall comply with the regulations set out in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and regulations on groundwater protection specified in Article 31 of this Law.
Article 66. River and lake channel, bank and terrace erosion prevention and control
1. The improvement of river and lake channel, bank and terrace, construction of hydraulic structures, mining of sand, gravel and other minerals in rivers, lakes and water source protection corridors must not cause erosion and adverse impacts of the stability of river and lake channel, bank and terrace and water source protection corridors.
2. For the activities in clause 1 of this Article that pose the risk of destabilizing river and lake channel, bank and terrace, it is required to assess their impacts and formulate a plan to protect, prevent and control river and lake channel, bank and terrace erosion.
The impact assessment and appraisal of the plan to protect, prevent and control landslides on river and lake channel, bank and terrace erosion shall be carried out during the appraisal of the environmental impact assessment report. The impact assessment and the plan to protect, prevent and control landslides on river and lake channel, bank and terrace erosion serve as main details of the environmental impact assessment report.
3. In the course of licensing the mining of sand, gravel and other minerals in a rivers or lake, the licensing authority must organize appraisal of the details about location, scope and depth of mining and mining regime prior to licensing to ensure that river or lake channel, bank or terrace erosion does not occur.
4. For any river or river section whose bank or terrace suffers from or is prone to erosion, it is required to zone off areas prohibited and temporarily prohibited from mining of sand, gravel and other minerals. Areas prohibited and temporarily prohibited from mining of sand, gravel and other minerals shall be zoned off in accordance with regulations of law on minerals.
5. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall, within their jurisdiction, direct the operation of hydraulic and hydroelectric structures; the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport shall review and promulgate standards and national technical regulations on structure construction and direct and supervise construction activities in rivers and water source protection corridors in such a way to meet the requirements for river and lake channel, bank and terrace erosion prevention and control.
6. The Government shall elaborate clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.
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