Climate change and water supply in the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City

摘要

The combination of natural and induced land subsidence, sea level rise and other effects of climatechange, such as extended periods of drought, greatly affects agriculture and water supply. It aggravatesand accelerates sea water intrusion further inland and reduces the availability of fresh water as a sourcefor public water supply. The salinity of the groundwater that is used for public water supply in the city ofSoc Trang in the Mekong Delta is locally very high. A surface water treatment plant will be constructedto dilute or substitute the groundwater with a chloride content exceeding the Vietnamese standard of 250mg/l for clean water. Ho Chi Minh City relies largely on rivers for its public water supply. Raw water istaken from the Dong Nai and Sai Gon rivers. The salinity of the water of these rivers varies substantiallywith the tides and with the season. During the dry season with limited natural discharge salinity canexceed the Vietnamese standard for chloride. Construction of impounding reservoirs would allowselective intake of river water when salinity is relatively low.