VietNamNet Bridge – Hanoi will give priority to projects to explore water from the Red, Duong and Da rivers, since the underground water resources have been exhausted.

SOS: the quality of underground water is degrading

30 percent of city dwellers lack clean water

Underground water levels are falling fast

Le Van Duc, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Construction, Hanoi’s demand for clean water reaches around 965,500 cu.m a day. It will rise to over 1.23 million cu.m a day by 2015.

To meet the rising need for clean water, Hanoi will build the Red River water supply plant and Duong River water plant, while raise the capacity of the Da River water supply plant.

According to the Hanoi Clean Water Company, the capital city’s underground water resources have been exhausted, especially in the dry season. The input cost for exploring underground water, thus, has increased extensively, causing losses for the company.

The $393 million plan to exploit river water has been submitted to the Hanoi authorities for approval. Accordingly, the entire residents of ten urban districts and Son Tay town will be supplied with tap water.

Hanoi, the second biggest city in Vietnam, with 6.5 million people, currently has four water works which provide nearly 700,000 cubic meters per day.

The majority of the city's water comes from underground reserves, and only a small percentage came from the surface.

Overexploitation of underground reserves would have a massive effect on the city's strata, and cause depressions on construction sites and in urban areas.

PV