A woman in the southern province of Tien Giang uses water purification chemicals to clean rain water she collects for domestic use. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Many families in Hong Linh communein Ha Tinh province still keep water pipes running from mountain creeks. Othersin the province’s Thuan Loc commune prefer to use their wells, just in case tapwater dries up.
And over the last several years that seems to be the betteroption as there has often been tap water shortages during the hot season.
In many other parts of the province, clean water shortageshappen all the time. In Thach Tri commune, residents have to buy canned cleanwater for daily use at high price, in Duc Tho and Can Loc districts, peoplehave to collect rain water and use water from lakes and ponds for washing andshowering.
Only 47 percent of Ha Tinh province’s population has accessto clean water that meets national standard.
Tran Van Hai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Duc Thanh commune in Duc Tho district, said he didn’t know when the situation would improve.
“Finding a clean water resource for residents in the communenow seems hopeless. We have to use polluted water from wells and lakes and wehave asked the higher authority for clean water, but all plans are still onpaper," he said.
And that’s just a small part of the bigger picture.
Five years after Vietnam launched its national action planto improve efficiency in water resources management, protection and usage, only49 percent of the country’s rural population has access to clean water.
Vietnam has a dense network of rivers which should provide amore than adequate supply.
But experts warned inefficient water management, along withthe impacts of climate change, have resulted in shortages countrywide.
The average water volume per capita is currently 3,400square meters a year, which is expected to drop to 2,830 square meters by 2035.Meanwhile, the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) classifies anation with less than 4,000 square meters per person a year as water-stressed.
Vietnam is estimated to consume some 80.6 billion cu.m ofwater per annum. The volume of water to be used by 2020 is likely to risealmost half of that again to 120 billion cu.m. The Asian Development Bank’s(ADB) has warned that around 8.4 million Vietnamese people or 9.66 percent of itspopulation will likely suffer from water shortfall by 2050.
Hoang Van Bay, head of the Department of Water ResourcesManagement under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, blamed thesituation on bad management and a rise in illegal water exploitation.
“We do not have proper database for water resources, we arelacking of qualified water management staff at localities,” he said.
“Meanwhile, people’s willingness to follow regulations onwater resources are low, wasteful use of water is high, and illegalexploitation of underground water is not controlled.”
Le Duc Trung, head of the Mekong River Commission office in Vietnam,said rapid population growth and climate change had negative impacts on watersecurity in the Mekong Delta River, home to 60 percent of Vietnam’ssurface water.
“Rocket population growth, expansion of agricultureactivities and exploitation of water flow for power demand caused seriousimpacts on the quality and quantity of the water flow,” he said.
Trung also said natural disaster and climate change impactssuch as rising sea level and saline intrusion also threatened the region’sresources.
In Rach Gia city of Kien Giang province, saline waterintrusion last year was found almost 20 kms inland contaminating the freshwateraquifers and affecting wells and ponds used for drinking water.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment TranQuy Kien said the future of water exhaustion would come true if nothing is donein time.
“It’s necessary to have a review of the country’s totalwater surface and underground water quantity. Every organisation and individual needs to use watermindfully be it for agriculture activities, hydropower or other economicactitivies,” he said.
Bay from the Department of Water Resources Managementsuggested strict enforcement of water resources utility and protectionregulations should be implemented.
Tight supervision on water exploitation should be conductedwith the support of modern technologies; underground water exploitation shouldbe limited, while searching for new water sources in regions where water isscarce should also be done quickly.
He also emphasised the need to improve and revive pollutedrivers, investing in water quality surveillance systems, wastewater dischargesurveillance systems, and making rivers basin water management plans.
Director of the National Centre for Water Resources Planningand Investigation Trieu Duc Huy said in the future, the centre will completethe national water resources plan along with relevant policies.
Le Duc Trung from the Mekong River Commision office in Vietnamsaid Vietnam has been proactively co-operating with countries in upper MekongRiver regions in sustainable water resources management, both bilaterally andmultilaterally.
Despite the current situation, Vietnam aims at providinghygienic water to 95 percent of its population and clean water to 55 percent ofits population by 2020.-VNS/VNA
VNA
