HCM City limits exploitation of water to offset shortages

VnnNews – Nguyen Van Nga, head of HCM City’s Water and Mineral Resources Division, spoke to Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.

VnnNews – Nguyen Van Nga, head of HCM City’s Water and Mineral Resources Division, spoke to Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.

How many cubic metres of surface water and groundwater are exploited daily in HCM City?

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According to a survey in 2008, the city exploited about 1.2 million cu.m of surface water a day, 900,000 cubic metres from the Dong Nai River and 300,000 cubic metres from the Sai Gon River. About 582,000 cubic metres of groundwater were exploited each day by enterprises and households. The department granted licenses for 707 enterprises to exploit a total of 327,000 cubic metres a day. The remaining figure was exploited by households and small-scale production units.

A drilled well in HCM City. Such as well costs 15 million dong (US$890). (File photo)

With this amount, does it affect the level of land surface and the quality of fresh water resources?

This year the weather has been unusual. The temperature reached nearly 40 degree Celsius at the beginning of the dry season, and the situation is expected to last until the end of the dry season, affecting the reserves of water recourses.

On the Dong Nai River, for instance, water supply plants have discovered that the water level has fallen nearly 20 centimetres against the same period in 2008 and salt water intrusion at the river mouth has occurred earlier than last year.

These situations have not occurred in the Dong Nai River before. Groundwater sources that flow into the river are declining.

Observations of the groundwater layers in HCM City last year showed that the main groundwater layers were relatively stable.

Exploitation of groundwater affects the surface of the land. However, the amount of exploited groundwater in certain areas is at a permissible level.

The department is carrying out a project to research deformation of land surface which will be a basis for limiting or banning the exploitation of groundwater in the city’s areas.

Several companies and households are concerned that if the city restricts groundwater exploitation, it will affect their production and daily lives.

The city restricts exploiting groundwater but does not ban groundwater exploitation. In areas where tap water is available and stable, new licenses for exploiting groundwater will not be granted. Areas where tap water is not available are temporarily allowed to use groundwater.

On the other hand, the department has told the Saigon Water Corporation to complete a water supply network in areas without tap water.

The restriction on exploiting groundwater began in 2007 in 13 inner districts where there are water supply networks.

The restriction has had positive results. The exploitation of groundwater in the districts only accounts for 9 per cent of the city’s total exploited amount. The department has also been implementing Decision 15/2008 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment that protects groundwater resources. The department will create a map showing where groundwater exploitation or restriction is banned.

Are there many enterprises with access to tap water using groundwater for production purposes?

Despite having access to tap water, many organisations and individuals are still using groundwater because the cost of exploiting groundwater and water resource taxes are low. The water resource tax rate is equal to 1-8 per cent of water prices, which is VND2,000 per cubic metres for surface water and VND4,000 per cubic metres for groundwater.

There should be higher taxes, so the water prices should be revised. We should also strictly inspect the exploitation of water resources and punish violators.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Cubic Metres, Dong Nai River, Exploiting Groundwater, Hcm City, In Hcm City, Tap Water, The City, The Department, The Dong Nai, The Dong Nai River, Physics games

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