Safe water for all

Efforts are on to supply clean water to all the capital’s residents by 2005, a Hanoi Water Supply Co official has said.
Bui Van Mat, director of the company, said by then the city would have a daily total supply of 600,000 cubic metres. The company hopes to develop a series of water pumping stations including, by January 2005, the Nam Du Station with a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres a day.
It also plans to raise the capacity of the Cao Dinh Water Pumping Plant form 30,000 to 60,000 cubic metres a day and some other’s by 20,000 cubic metres.
Mat said the company needed another 60,000 cubic metres to reach its target of 600,000 cubic metres a day.
However, to reduce the burden on the water supply company, by the end next year the city will get an additional 150,000 cubic metres daily form the Da River, 70 kilometres to the north.
The Hanoi Water Supply Co soon hopes to upgrade its network in Ba Dinh, Tay Ho, Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung and Hoang Mai districts to be ready for next summer.
The project will cost 548 billion dong (US$34.9 million) and will enable water supply to 89,000 households.
Though the city’s water supply has increased from 134 million to 147 million cubic metres a year in the last five years, only 70% of its residents yet have access to clean pipe water; the remaining 30% in seven districts continue to depend on wells.
According to the company, its current capacity of 440,000 cubic metres day allows it to supply just 70% of the city’s residents. To supply clean water to all, it needs at least 132,000 cubic metres more.
Many people living downtown—in precincts in Hai Ba Trung, Hao Nam, O Cho Dua and Hoang Mai districts—do not have access to tap water.
In the last five years, though pumping capacity increased 9%, the number of users rose faster, Mat said. From 182,543 customers in 2000, it had risen to 287,000 currently, an increase of 57.65%.
Despite heavy investments to improve it, the city water supply network remained poor as a result of which 40% of the water was lost.

 

Category: Business