Local residents have to buy untreated river water for their daily needs after their region was hit by drought and saltwater intrusion – PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

For this purpose, the authorities in the delta have proposed the development of over 400 freshwater supply projects, which require over VND2.8 trillion from the central State Budget, some VND1.6 trillion from the local budget and roughly VND296 billion from the locals, according to a report recently released on the issue.

These projects could ensure the supply of fresh water to more than 860,000 households in rural areas during the five-year period.

Besides this, an additional VND584 billion will be needed at a household level to build water supply projects to serve 108,100 homes in the next five years.

Luong Van Anh, deputy head of the Directorate of Water Resources, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, stressed that 98% of people in the delta have access to clean water, while 55% of them use clean water that meets national standards.

During the 2019-2020 drought and saltwater intrusion, with the most severe period lasting from March 8 to 24 this year, as many as 96,000 local households faced a shortage of fresh water for their daily needs. Of these, 20,600 households used water from centralized water supply projects and the rest from projects at a household level.

The most affected provinces were Long An, Ben Tre, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.

To cope with the shortage and ensure locals have fresh water for their daily needs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will facilitate investments in interregional or interprovincial irrigation projects and consider proposals to build freshwater reservoirs, Anh remarked.

Moreover, the ministry will petition the World Bank to offer assistance for a project associated with clean water and a sustainable, climate change-resilient rural ecosystem for the 2021-2025 period, the official noted. SGT