Illustrative photo (Source: english.vietnamnet.vn)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – The capital city of Hanoi has many areas which become waterloggedduring heavy rain because of its outdated and overloaded drainage system,reported the Kinh Te & Do Thi (Economy & City) Newspaper.
In recent years, the city has grown significantly, with the formation of manynew urban centres and industrial parks, as well as a rapidly increasingpopulation.
However, investment in drainage infrastructure has not kept pace withdevelopment, while abnormal weather poses challenges to the sewer system, thepaper said.
Figures from Hanoi’s Department of Construction show that there are 19waterlogging hotspots on main roads and 180 areas on small streets and lanesacross the city.
The current drainage system is designed for rainfall of up to 100mm. Along withlow drainage capacity, the system has also deteriorated over the years. Thismeans that many roads are quickly flooded during heavy rain.
The city’s drainage facility of 0.46m per person was much lower than worldstandard of 2m per capita.
Construction of infrastructure has reduced irrigation reservoirs and areas ofpervious ground, exacerbating the city’s waterlogging problem, said the paper.
Associated Prof. Dr. Mai Thi Lien Huong, director of the InfrastructureDepartment under the Ministry of Construction, said that “at present, thecity’s drainage system consisted of sewers, canals, lakes, rivers and pumpingstations, providing drainage for the inner city and irrigation for agriculturalproduction.”
“In general, the system was degraded and overloaded, causing local floodingduring heavy rain,” Huong was quoted as saying.
Hoang Mai Huong, an official from Hanoi’s construction department, said thewaterlogging was due to the overlapping implementation of drainage work.
“At present, a drainage area was operated and maintained by several units. Thiswas not effective,” said Huong.
The local government has not yet issued regulations or sanctions for violationswhich have caused difficulties for management work, she said.
The city’s drainage system consists of three main regions – east and west ofthe Day River, and north Hanoi, spanning 47,300ha, 31,300ha and 46,700ha,respectively.
The drainage to the east of the Day River region was to pump water to the Hong,Nhue and Day Rivers, while water flows automatically via the west of the Day Riverregion to the rivers Tich, Day and Bui.
And in the north Hanoi region, water discharges to the Hong, Duong and Ca Lo Rivers.
Over recent years, the city has implemented many projects to tackle flooding,such as the second phase of the inner city To Lich River basin to ensure rainwater drainage of 310cu.m per hour for rivers and 70mm per hour forculverts, and projects to restore 11 ponds in the city.
However, to solve the problem, the city needs to consider hi-tech methods indrainage.
“Hanoi needs to think about software to manage drainage facilities, includingmatters of asset management, operation, maintenance and data collection,” theexpert said.
The city should have policies to attract investment in drainage projects withODA funds or under public-private partnership (PPP), she said.
It is also necessary to stop people littering in sewers, canals and rivers, Huongsaid.-VNS/VNA
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