Piped-Water Supplies in Rural Areas of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Water Quality and Household Perceptions

Abstract

Abstract:In the Mekong Delta (MD) in Vietnam, piped-water supply stations are being intensively built to reach the millennium development goal (MDG) to provide safe and clean drinking water resources to communities. However, studies focusing on the effectiveness of supply stations in reaching these goals are scarce to date. Water samples from 41 water supply stations in the MD were collected between June and October 2012. Water samples were analyzed for general parameters, salinity, nutrients, metal(loid)s and microbial indicator bacteria and compared with World Health Organization (WHO) and Vietnamese drinking water guidelines. In addition, 542 household interviews were conducted to investigate the connection rate to piped-water and people's perceptions regarding piped-water supplies. The results show that water guidelines were exceeded for pH (min. 6.2), turbidity (max. 10 FTU), Cl (max. 1,576 mg·L ). Moreover, more than half of the interviewed households with access to a piped-water supply did not use this supply as a source of drinking water due to (i) high connection fees; (ii) preference for other water sources; and (iii) perceived poor quality/quantity. Our study shows that the maintenance and distribution of water supply stations should significantly improve in order for piped-water to become a reliable drinking water source. Additionally, alternatives, such as rainwater harvesting and decentralized treatment facilities, should also be considered.

Effects of Multi-Dike Protection Systems on Surface Water Quality in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

“…An eigenvalue measures the significance of the factors. Scree plots were obtained based on the pronounced change of slope after the third eigenvalue, in which eigenvalues greater than or equal to 1 were considered [59,85,86]. In this study, the first four eigenvalues in both seasons were selected In both the dry and wet seasons, there was a large discriminant between cluster 1 and the other clusters, while cluster 3a and 3b had fewer discriminant features.…”

Population dynamics, delta vulnerability and environmental change: comparison of the Mekong, Ganges–Brahmaputra and Amazon delta regions

“…Secondly, indirect environmental effects on mortality rates include the quality of water and sanitation, which are associated with water-borne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid and paratyphoid fevers. Water quality in the frequently populated smaller waterways of the Mekong delta is relatively poor, regardless of the sources exploited (surface-, ground-water, rain water, piped water), with contamination by pesticides (Chau et al 2015 ; Toan et al 2013 ), nutrients, metals, salinity and microbial organisms (Wilbers et al 2014a , b ; Wilbers et al 2013 ; Wilbers et al 2014a , b ). In peri-urban and rural regions of the Mekong delta, large portions of the population are directly exposed to polluted water and consume polluted water with treatments that do not eliminate all contaminants (Wilbers et al 2014a , b ; Wilbers et al 2013 ; Wilbers et al 2014a , b ).…”

Cyanobacterial Blooms and Microcystins in Southern Vietnam

“…The available surface water from these water supplies can be directly used for domestic purposes, especially in the dry season and cyanobacteria accumulation in the surface water has not been recognized as a potential health risk to local people who settle in villages and cities along and above the rivers, lakes and ponds. Additionally, raw water for local water supply stations in the Mekong delta collected from the rivers and canals in this area is treated via a simple process—rock and sand filters in combination with chlorinated disinfection—prior to reaching the local communities [ 14 ]. The piped-water provided by these local water supply stations may be contaminated by MCs liberated from cyanobacterial cell lysis due to the chlorination in the water process.…”

“…Hence, fish and other aquatic animals grown in the aquaculture ponds may contain cyanotoxins posing a potential risk to consumers ( Figure 1 a,b). Surface water collected directly from the water bodies by local water supply stations in the Mekong Delta is generally treated by rock and sand filters in combination with chlorinated disinfection before supplying the water to the local communities [ 14 ]. However, when cyanobacterial blooms occur in these water bodies, the presence of cyanotoxins in treated drinking water cannot be totally excluded.…”