Experts from the Department of Water Resource Management, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, forecast that in the coming years, if the challenges facing natural water sources are not adequately addressed, the risk of water shortages will have severe consequences for the national economy, especially given the current rapid urbanization.
According to a survey by the Department of Water Resource Management, Vietnam’s groundwater resources are abundant, with a total exploitable volume of approximately 60 billion cubic meters per year, yet only about 5% of this is currently being utilized. In particular, in the two areas of Hanoi and the Mekong Delta, groundwater is being over-extracted, leading to a serious decline in groundwater levels and causing land subsidence, salinity intrusion, and various forms of water pollution in most localities.
The Department of Environmental Protection reported that the water quality in the lower reaches of the Nhuệ and Đáy Rivers, as well as the Đồng Nai-Saigon River, has reached alarming levels of pollution. On average, the Đồng Nai-Saigon river system receives about 111,600 cubic meters of wastewater daily from industrial parks and export processing zones, including dozens of tons of pollutants that exceed permissible standards. The basins of the Nhuệ and Đáy Rivers are also burdened with approximately 80,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day discharged directly by local production facilities.
Most urban wastewater is untreated when released into the environment, and only about 4.3% of industrial wastewater across the country meets environmental standards after treatment. Another significant risk is oil spills in port areas, which are putting pressure on environmental protection agencies at both the central and local levels if safe solutions are not implemented.
