Of this, around 650,000 cu.m come from the Tien and Hau rivers and the restfrom groundwater sources, according to the ministry.
The provinces that depend much on groundwater are Long An, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang,Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau.
The infiltration of seawater into rivers has affected the delta’s water supply,resulting in many pumping stations supplying water with salinity levelsexceeding the norm by 0.06 – 0.12 percent.
With the delta expected to require around 1.9 million cu.m daily by 2020, theMinistry of Construction has directed utilities in the delta to take measuresto protect water sources.
Following this, Kien Giang province plans to immediately build nine groundwaterextraction facilities that will include 20 wells and enlarge the Rach Gia cityreservoir’s supply capacity to 1 million cu.m a day.
Ben Tre province will mobilise vehicles to transport water to homes and publicfacilities and speed up construction of a pumping station for untreated waterwith a daily capacity of 47,000 cu.m.
In the long term, the ministry will work with relevant agencies to seek foreigninvestment for the construction of waterworks in the delta which use advancedtechnologies, adapt to climate change and are environmentally friendly.
Five giant intra-regional water treatment plants - Tien River No 1 in TienGiang province, Tien River No 2 in Vinh Long province, Hau River No 1 in HauGiang province, Hau River No 2 and 3 in An Giang province - with a combinedcapacity of 1 million cu.m a day will be built by 2025.
By 2030, their capacity will be increased by 650,000 cu.m a day.
By then the delta, which has a population of more than 17 million, hopes toprovide 98-100 percent of people living in urban with access to clean water.
Last year, some 250,000 households suffered from water shortages because of thesevere drought and saltwater intrusion.-VNA