Accelerating Urban Wastewater Treatment Projects
Accelerating Urban Wastewater Treatment Projects
Currently, investment in urban infrastructure, especially wastewater treatment systems, is limited. In many places, untreated wastewater is still openly discharged into the environment, posing a significant threat to the lives of citizens and becoming a major challenge for Vietnamese cities.
With the desire to end pollution in rivers and lakes in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son (Ha Tri, Ha Dong) hopes that the city's drainage projects will be implemented on schedule. Mr. Son stated that Hanoi residents have endured water pollution for too long in rivers like To Lich and Nhue. However, if urban wastewater, industrial wastewater, and wastewater from craft villages continue to be discharged directly into the environment, the pollution level will never improve. Especially when waste treatment facilities are overloaded, garbage accumulates in the streets within just a few days, emitting a strong, unpleasant odor. "I hope Hanoi completes the waste treatment plant project soon, calculates to increase the capacity of waste treatment plants to handle the city's waste promptly and safely for the environment," he said.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, domestic wastewater in Vietnam generates about 3,650m3/day/night, with a processing rate of only about 12-14%. Specifically, Hanoi is at about 22%, Ho Chi Minh City is about 21.2%, and Da Nang is about 33% of the total collected and treated domestic water. Out of 846 urban areas nationwide, only 38 urban areas have centralized wastewater treatment facilities, accounting for 4.4%. In the Master Plan for Hanoi's Drainage until 2030, with a vision to 2050, only 5 completed projects have been put into operation. One project is in progress, and the remaining 8 projects cannot be implemented due to difficulties in funding and investment mechanisms.
Currently, many mechanisms, policies, regulations, and guidelines for managing and treating urban domestic wastewater have been completed and issued. However, wastewater in large cities is mostly untreated or only partially treated before being discharged directly into canals, rivers, and lakes, causing environmental pollution in both inner and outer urban areas. Therefore, environmental experts believe that it is time to pay more attention to the management and treatment of wastewater in planning, policies, technology, management, and operation. Additionally, to protect water resources in the long term, sustainable measures need to be strengthened against actions that pollute water sources.
However, in reality, the resources for wastewater treatment mainly rely on ODA funds to build wastewater treatment plants. However, thoroughly addressing wastewater pollution issues depends not only on the quality and capacity of the plants but also on related issues such as collection and technology. For example, densely populated cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang can use advanced technology for treatment. Still, it must be accompanied by a modern, efficient centralized collection system to avoid congestion during transportation to treatment facilities.
Mai Trong Thai, Deputy Director in charge of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, mentioned that some urban areas have handed over the wastewater treatment system without ongoing investment. Besides, due to the transfer of part of the land to other investors, it is difficult to build centralized wastewater treatment facilities. As a solution, Mr. Thai suggested speeding up the construction of centralized wastewater treatment plants. For long-standing projects, investors are required to address treatment components as specified. For urban areas with issues, the department will enhance monitoring systems and automatic supervision. In the future, the department will demand serious completion of centralized wastewater treatment projects from investors and the fulfillment and improvement of environmental protection projects before becoming operational.
