HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities are takingmeasures to ensure residents’ access to clean water during the dry season andupcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

The State-owned SaigonWater Corporation (SAWACO), the city’s largest tap water supplier, said itwould ensure a sufficient supply of clean water for the city’s residents duringthe period.

The demand for water duringthe dry season is expected to be especially high in districts with fast-pacedurbanisation, such as districts 9, 12, Binh Tan, Nha Be, Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh.     

SAWACO has asked watercompanies in the city to work with the electricity sector to ensure smoothoperations during the holiday and dry season.

The companies andgovernment agencies will ensure water quality, especially at the Hoa Phupumping station (at Tan Hiep Water Company) and Hoa An pumping station (at ThuDuc Water Company).  

The companies have beenasked to monitor water contamination and saline intrusion, and control watervolume at the sources to increase water pressure, especially in areas far fromthe sources.

In addition, the supply ofwater from stored tanks and mobile tanks like tank trucks must be ready at anytime to ensure sufficient supply.

The companies have alsobeen told to work with fire-fighting police to ensure there is sufficientsupply of water in case of fire.

Water supply staff will beavailable 24/7 during the holiday to resolve any problems of water supply andweak water pressure.       

All water companies such asThu Duc, Tan Hiep and Tan Phu must be ready to operate at a designated capacityrequested by SAWACO.

To comply with the policyto limit exploitation of underground water sources, SAWACO has shifted to othersources.

Most water samples fromdrilled wells in the city are contaminated, affecting people’s health in thelong run, said a city official.

To cope with climatechange, which affects the city’s water resources, SAWACO has adjusted the watersupply master plan, incorporating provisions to build more pumping stations aswell as lakes and tanks to store treated and untreated water.

Last year, SAWACO asked thecity authority to build five reservoirs in the next eight years to ensure cleanwater supply for residents.

The quality of the water supply has worsened due to pollution andeffects of climate change, according to SAWACO.

The five reservoirs, which will be able to store up to 373,000 cu.mof water, will be located in Go Vap and Binh Chanh districts and in thecentral, southern and western parts of the city.

By 2025, SAWACO expects the total capacity of the city’sreservoirs and water towers to be upgraded to 1.2 million cubic metres, orabout 48 percent of the total water consumed on a daily basis.-VNA