Vietnam Warned to Face Serious Water Shortage

Vietnam is likely to face a severe serious shortage of water in the near future due to its rising population and degraded water resources, Deputy Head of the Water Resources Management Department Le Huu Thuan under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said. Thuan made the warning at a conference on water resources with the field of communication in Hanoi on Oct 20. Excessive use and exploitation of water sources were attributed to the shortage, Thuan was quoted by the Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon newspaper as saying Oct 21. Surface water sources are being polluted seriously due to wastewater from companies and mining industry, especially in cities, industrial parks, craft villages and rural areas. A total volume of surface water in Vietnam is estimated at between 830 billion-840 billion cubic meters a year. However, the water volume distribute unequally, accounting for 80% in rainy months while making up 20%-25% for dry months, Thuan added. Meanwhile, the underground water level in the Mekong Delta region may fall to the dead water level in 2014. Thousands of wells in the region are now polluted seriously due to mass exploitation of underground water. Vietnam’s water resources are limited, it is getting more degraded if strong measures are not timely adopted as two third of Vietnam’s water volume come from foreign countries, Minister Nguyen Thai Lai emphasized. (thesaigontimes.vn Oct 21)