Hanoi, HCM City: nearly 50% of tap water lost

VietNamNet Bridge – Due to various reasons, the water loss rate of water supply systems in Hanoi and HCM City is around 40%.

The Chairman of the Vietnam Water Supply and Drainage Association, Nguyen Ton, said the association asked its members, provincial and municipal water supply companies, to cut down the water loss rate to less than 30% by the end of 2009.

Ton said some water companies in Vietnam have reached the water loss rate of developed countries, with 14% in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and 16% in the central province of Binh Dinh.

Twenty water supply companies committed to slash their rates to less than 20%, Ton revealed.

“On average, the figure is 32% for the whole country,” Ton said.

HCM City accounts for up to one-third of the country’s total tap water output. HCM City and Hanoi make up a half of the total output. The two cities have water loss rates of around 40%, which make the country’s average rate high, according to Ton.

“Developed countries in the world have average clean water loss rates of around 15%. The figure is between 20-30% for Southeast Asian countries. The highest rate is in the Philippines, where it is 60%.”

The main reason for the loss is old, outdated water pipe systems. Around 10% of pipes in Hanoi and HCM City were installed 30-40 years ago. In Hanoi, old pipes are mainly in the old quarter.

Ton said it is very costly and complicated to upgrade the old pipes. The old pipes cannot be replaced entirely, only partially.

Another reason is uncontrolled construction activities, which harm the water pipe system. Water theft is also a problem.

The Vietnam Water Supply and Drainage Association has urged its members to expand their pipe systems. Actually, some water supply factories don’t run at full capacity while people in some areas don’t have clean water.

For example, Vinaconex recently sold Hanoi the Da River Water Plant, which has a daily capacity of 300,000cu.m. But Hanoi can only run the factory at one-third capacity because of the lack of water pipes leading to residential areas.

Meanwhile, people in some areas in Hoang Mai and Thanh Xuan districts are short of clean water.

Do Minh