Dwellers in Da Nang have been facing a shortage of tap water because sea water has predominated in the Cam Le River, which provides the main source of raw water for the locale.

The salinity of the water in the river has surged to the level 65 times the safe limit, said Nguyen Minh Chinh, director of the Cau Do Waterworks in Cam Le District.

It results from retaining water in the reservoirs of the hydropower plants upstream, which leads to the Cam Le River running out of water and sea water intruding on the river.

The Cau Do Waterworks in Da Nang operates below the real capacity because sea water has predominated in the Cam Le River these days.

An official from Dawaco, the main water supply company in Da Nang, said the salinity of the water in the Cam Le River has stood at a high level in the last ten years though the pumping station of the Cau Do waterworks is just ten kilometers from the river mouth.

To cope with the shortage of raw water, Da Nang is planning to build another pumping station along the Cu De River with a capacity of 120,000 cubic meters a day.

The proposed facility can only start operations around 2020.

(Source: Tuoitrenews)