GUOPA –
Increased salinity of ground and surface water in the Mekong delta puts public water supply at risk. The water supply companies in the Mekong Delta currently rely on both ground- and surface water resources. Groundwater extraction contributes to the process of land subsidence, while land subsidence in turn causes salinity levels in both surface and groundwater to increase. The sources are also threatened by high levels of pollution, caused by domestic, industrial and agricultural wastewater.
To ensure water supply to the people living in the Mekong Delta in the future, VEI supports the water supply companies of Hau Giang, Soc Trang and Can Tho in developing long-term resilient water supply plans in which the sustainability of various water resources will explored and the effects of the various options on the current treatment, transmission and distribution schemes investigated. In this way, the project supports the water supply companies to prepare for and absorb future implementation of (sub)regional supply schemes.
In June, together with Can Tho University, VEI organized the first out of three workshops related to long-term resilient water supply plans. The first workshop aimed at creating a sense of urgency of the need to develop these long term plans.