All Households in HCM City Have Tap Water

More than 1.92 million households or 100% of the households in Ho Chi Minh City now have access to tap water, according to the city’s People’s Committee. The supply of clean water to all families helps improve the quality of life of local people as well protect underground water resources, said Le Van Khoa, deputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee. The use of water from drilled wells poses a danger to human health, with 92 per cent of water samples taken from wells in the city contaminated with hazardous substances, Khoa said at a ceremony held on Jan 20. Saigon Water Supply Corporation (Sawaco) carried out various measures to supply tap water to all families, including the installation of tap water pipelines and water meters at houses as well as building water stations and water towers, said Nguyen Van Tam, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transport. A total of 499,400 households or 26 per cent of total households in the city have accessed tap water since the city’s People’s Council issued a resolution in 2015 that targeted supplying tap water for all the city’s households, Tam said. The city’s People’s Committee ordered Sawaco to complete the installation of water pipelines and water meters at all households by June 2018. The committee will encourage the participation of enterprises and investors to fuel the installation of water pipelines running directly to every house, he said. He asked the city’s Preventive Medicine Centre to carry out regular checks on the quality of tap water. Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the city’s People’s Council, asked local authorities to check the access to tap water among local residents to ensure that no household was left behind. Local people should be educated on the harmful effects of exploiting underground water resources, Tam said. This year, Sawaco will invest nearly VND5 trillion ($221.23 million) to develop 1,126 kilometers of pipelines. The city planned to complete Kenh Dong and Thu Duc 4 water factories next year as well as expand an additional 1,000 kilometers of water pipelines by 2019. (Vietnam News Jan 23)