This paper describes rice irrigation system around the Red River in Vietnam from the farmers’ point of view. The farmers are the principle element for water management in this area, with a strong in uence on water consumption as well as water quality. In a survey of hundreds of irrigation farmers in the Red River basin, two hundred farmers answered questions about their rice paddy areas, the character and quality of irrigation canals, their scheduling of irrigation and other characteristics. Ten survey points were used to describe irrigation practices. The average distance between each of these points was 40 km; all of them being situated a maximum of 1.1 km from the river. Some data obtained depends on the position of the research point in relation to the river (water ow), some other values are in uenced by survey point speci! cities. In areas with a de! cit of water it is recommended to increase the regulation of paddy in ow by all farmers, or to ! nd new water source if necessary. The survey has mainly shown problems of irrigation water quality.