Public funds vital for clean water

Children of the Raglai ethnic group in central Ninh Thuận Province wash their hands with clean domestic water.-VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

Residents in rural and isolated areas are those most in need of filtered water, but it is difficult to call for foreign investment in developing water supplies for those areas, said Lương Văn Anh, director of the National Centre for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (NCERWASS).

It is essential to attract investment from enterprises to increase the number of clean water supply constructions for these areas, he said at a conference on developing plans for clean water supply for rural areas last Friday.

At the conference, Đỗ Tiến Thành, director of the water resource management department under the Water Resource Directorate said it is a national target to provide filtered water for 95 per cent of the population and clean water for 55 per cent by 2020.

He stressed the importance of support from the government’s budget and capital from society, as well as funds from international organisations to reaching the target. He requested commercial banks to offer preferential loan interest rates to private enterprises.

In addition, it is important to improve the water supply system with environmentally-friendly technologies such as combining renewable energies with electricity, as well as to increase usage of automatic water quality operation and control applications, he added.

Water quality should be examined regularly, and smaller water supply stations should be developed for new urban areas, he said.

Climate change is threatening water resources from upstream and preventing residents in rural areas from accessing the resources during natural disasters, requiring a new approach to clean water supply for these areas, said Deputy Agricultural Minister Hoàng Văn Thắng.

Water pollution is getting worse in mountainous areas and Central Highlands due to poor water resource management, which requires detailed analysis and solutions, he said.

Filtered water has been provided to some 87.5 per cent of the population last year, of which 49 per cent has enjoyed water that qualified for the national technical standards for domestic water, regulated by the Ministry of Health.

100 per cent of citizens in the Đà Nẵng City, HCM City, Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces have enjoyed filtered water.