The risk of water shortage is getting worse

Experts of the Department of Water Resources Management, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, forecast that in the coming years, if the challenges that natural water resources are not fully addressed, the risk of water shortage will have serious consequences. important for the national economy, especially the rapid urbanization process today.

According to a survey by the Department of Water Resources Management, Vietnam's underground water resources are abundant, the total reserve is about 60 billion m3 / year, but only about 5% of these are exploited. Particularly in the two areas of Hanoi and the Mekong River Delta, groundwater is being overexploited, leading to a serious decrease in groundwater levels and the phenomenon of land subsidence, salinization and other types of plots Water pollution in most localities.

The Department of Environmental Protection said water sources in the downstream of Nhue and Day and Dong Nai-Sai Gon rivers have been polluted to an alarming level. On average, Dong Nai-Saigon river system receives about 111,600m3 of wastewater from industrial parks and export processing zones, of which dozens of tons of polluting chemicals exceed permitted standards. The basin of Nhue and Day rivers also carries about 80,000 m3 of waste water / day and night directly from local production establishments.

Most of urban waste water has not been treated when discharged into the environment and only about 4.3% of industrial wastewater in the country meets the post-treatment environmental standards. Another major risk is that oil spills in seaport areas are putting pressure on environmental protection agencies from central to local levels if there is no safe solution.