Presently, the city is building three reservoirs for water including one in Lakeview City urban in District 2, smart underground reservoir in Vo Van Ngan Street in Thu Duc District and one in Khanh Hoi in District 4, said the steering center of Urban Flood Control Program in HCMC.
These reservoirs have proved to be effective in rainy season. Water in these reservoirs is used to flower trees, fighting fire and supplementing underground water to alleviate groundwater-related subsidence.
Since the reservoir in Vo Van Ngan Street has been operational, flooding in the area has been less compared to before, said former managing director of the center Nguyen Ngoc Cong.
Accordingly, the municipal People’s Committee directed districts to build more reservoirs. The Department of Architecture and Planning is now assessing 103-reservoir plan before submitting for the approval.
Of the 103 reservoirs, investors have taken heed to 6.2ha and 9.9ha reservoirs in Thu Duc District with total investment of 600 billion ($25,819,918).
Additionally, the people’s committee in district 12 in coordination with the Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), VMCtech are planning to construct reservoirs in streets Nguyen Van Qua, Song Hanh and the national highway No.22 to cope with climate change.
According to experts, reservoirs and rain water harvesting tanks will collect water from surfaces on which rain falls, and subsequently storing this water for later use helping to reduce inundation in the city.
HCMC authorities have made concerted efforts to provide fresh water to all dwellers; however, quality of water supply resources for HCMC has declined due to pollution in Sai Gon River and Dong Nai River, the two main source of water for a population of around 9 million city residents.
These rivers are dumped with untreated wastewater from daily activities and manufacturing companies.
Worse, levels of salt in the two rivers are high; hence, it could not provide useable water. Consequently, water supplier spends more on treating water.
Therefore, construction of rain water harvest tanks in residential areas and reservoirs should be encouraged by supporting policies, said Architect Nguyen Trung Viet.
