Water science and technology on display at Vietnam Water Week 2022. (Photo: baochinhphu.vn) Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mai Thi Lien Huong, Director ofthe Technical Infrastructure Department under the Ministry of Construction,said that just 15% of urban wastewater in Vietnam is treated.
Huong said Vietnam has more than 750 clean water factories inurban and rural areas with a total capacity of 11.6 million cu.m per day.
As many as 92% of urban residents can access clean water. However,she said there are only 71 concentrated wastewater treatment factoriesnationwide with a total designed capacity of about 1.38 million cu.m per day.
Climate change, drought, natural disasters, and saltwaterintrusion, together with population growth and rapid urbanisation, havesignificant impacts on the development of the water sector in Vietnam.
Addressing problems from water security, water supply safety,floods in urban areas, and wastewater treatment is a challenge for theVietnamese water industry, Huong said.
She expressed her hope that State agencies will continue tofinalise water supply and sewerage regulations and create policies encouragingeconomic sectors to invest in building, managing and operating water systems.
Huong said that water supply and sewerage businesses must applyadvanced science technology in building, managing and operating water systems,protecting the environment, saving energy and water resources, and adapting toclimate change and sustainable development.
Delivering his opening remark, Nguyen Ngoc Diep, Chairman of theVietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA), said safety and securityin water sector activities are as important as other factors, such as povertyreduction and improvement of life quality, and serves as a foundation for otherdevelopment goals of each country.
He said that the Vietnamese water sector had faced severalchallenges, including incomplete institutions, problems in drainage andwastewater treatment problems, and city flooding.
“The water sector must make lots of efforts to achieve the Government’sgoals and UN Sustainable Development Goals towards 2030,” he said.
At the conference titled “Water policy - Sustainable development”held within the framework of Vietnam Water Week 2022 on November 10, VWSA ViceChairman Tran Anh Tuan said the urban sewerage systems in Vietnam were built indifferent periods and did not match urban development. Rainwater and sewagewater share the same drainage system.
In rural areas, there is no wastewater collection and treatmentsystem. Urban flooding occurs in almost all urban areas with increasingfrequency due to rain and tides, especially in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho ChiMinh City, Da Nang, Can Tho and coastal urban areas. Even cities located inmountainous areas are flooded, he said.
He proposed approving the Law on Water Supply and Sewerage,focusing on clean water supply for urban, rural areas and industrial clusters.
Participants at the Vietnam Water Week are expected to share theirpolicy-building experience, especially in compiling Law on Water Supply andSewerage, to help Vietnam and other countries achieve the United NationsSustainable Development Goal towards 2030 of ensuring water supply andsanitation.
The Ministry of Construction and Vietnam Water Supply and SewerageAssociation organised the event from November 9 to 11./.
VNA
