In recent days, Da Nang’s Cau Do (Red Bridge) River has suffered from severe salt-water contamination.

DAWACO employees are on duty around the clock to monitor local water supplies

In particular, since 31 August, the salinity levels of the river have been between 260mg/l and 2,000mg/l. The highest salinity levels of the Red Bridge River recorded at 9.00am on 5 September were 2,019mg/l, around 9 times higher than the allowed limits.

A representative from the Da Nang Water Supply Company (DAWACO) said the main reasons for the increasing salinity levels were to be prolonged heatwave, low tides on the Han River, and a decrease of freshwater flow from upstream over recent days.

The high salinity level of the river has resulted in a severe shortage of tap water, which has adversely affected daily lives of local citizens.

Mr Pham Huan residing on Thanh Thuy Street in Hai Chau District’s Thanh Binh Ward repeatedly complained about a serious lack of tap water over recent days. He hoped that DAWACO would deal with the problem as soon as possible.

To handle this matter of deep concern, the An Trach Pumping Station is now operating at full capacity to provide tap water for the Red Bridge and International Airport water supply plants. This has, however, satisfied 70% of the current water supply requirement, which has resulted in the lack of raw water for water production activities.

Therefore, the amount of fresh water has decreased by between 50,000 m³ and 70,000m³ per day. This has resulted in some areas in the downstream area of the river, such as Ngu Hanh Son, Son Tra and Lien Chieu districts, facing a lack of tap water.

Meanwhile, the Vu Gia River in Quang Nam Province is facing the exhaustion of raw water resources because hydropower plants upstream of the Vu Gia River have stopped discharging water due to their halted electricity production.

Therefore, DAWACO is exerting every effort to exploit all possible raw water resources to ensure enough fresh water supplies for locals. In addition, it is asking relevant local agencies to regulate the operation of hydropower plants in order to directly exploit water source from the Red Bridge Water Supply Plant. This will help to ensure sufficient water for residents’ daily lives, agricultural and industrial production activities in the city in the coming time.