The provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment has instructed local authorities to assess water demand and available supplies for crop production, identify areas at risk of shortages and adjust farming plans accordingly.
Authorities have also reviewed water flows in the Dong Nai and Serepok river basins to assess storage capacity ahead of the expected dry conditions.
Rainfall in Lam Dong fell sharply in October 2026 compared with the same period in previous years.
Since October 10, the province has experienced only scattered rainfall, generally averaging less than 10 millimetres a day, leaving inflows to major hydropower reservoirs unusually low.
At Dai Ninh Reservoir in Ninh Gia Commune, average inflows in October reached nearly 45 cubic metres per second, about 14 per cent below the long-term average.
Don Duong Reservoir in D'Ran Commune recorded daily inflows of around 13–15 cubic metres per second, with storage at just 65 per cent of total capacity.
At Dong Nai 3 Reservoir, spanning Quang Khe and Ta Dung communes, the water level stood at 586.38 metres on October 28, below its normal level of 590 metres, with storage at 89 per cent of capacity.
These reservoirs are important not only for hydropower generation but also for water supplies across the Dong Nai River basin, including Lam Dong, Dong Nai and HCM City, as well as water transfers to Khanh Hoa Province.
Conditions are also concerning in the Serepok River basin, where rainfall since the start of the 2026 flood season has not generated significant river flooding.
By October, major reservoirs including Buon Tua Srah and Krong Buk Ha had reached only around 80 per cent of their designed storage capacity.
Of the basin's 62 irrigation reservoirs with capacities of at least one million cubic metres, only 38 had exceeded 70 per cent of designed capacity.
River and stream flows during August and September were 12–34 per cent lower than in the same period of 2025 and 5–28 per cent below long-term averages.
The department urged local authorities to prepare alternative cropping plans and adjust planting schedules where water shortages are likely.
It also recommended reducing cultivated areas in locations at high risk of irrigation shortages, particularly those outside reservoir supply networks or served by reservoirs vulnerable to drought.
In western Lam Dong, some farmers have already begun irrigating coffee and pepper plantations after nearly two weeks without rain.
Farmers said the unusually dry weather had forced them to water coffee trees while the fruit was still developing, nearly a month before the main harvest.
They described the conditions as rare for this time of year.