Over 40% of the rural population has access to clean water.

(Baonghean.vn) - By the end of the first quarter of 2016, according to information from the Center for Clean Water and Rural Sanitation, the percentage of rural population using hygienic domestic water was estimated at 75.5%; meanwhile, the percentage of domestic water meeting the quality standards of QCVN 02:2009/BYT was estimated at 40.6%.

The water treatment plant in Quynh Xuan commune, Hoang Mai district, has been put into operation. Photo: Nguyen Van

In the first quarter of 2016, the Center for Domestic Water and Rural Sanitation completed the following tasks: Implementing the 2016 plan; Checking the progress and quality of construction of centralized water supply projects; actively integrating the construction of centralized clean water projects, especially from the funding source of the National Target Program for Building New Rural Areas.

Focus on directing localities and units to actively integrate the construction, upgrading, and expansion of clean water facilities to increase the percentage of rural people using clean and hygienic water according to the criteria of Decision 2570/QD-BNN of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, striving to complete the objectives of the Resolution of the 18th Party Congress from the first year of the 2016-2020 term. Accelerate the implementation of the Clean Water Supply Project in the Central provinces (ADB-funded).

Ms. Vo Thi Mai, residing in Block 4b, Anh Son town, stated that the tap water in the district is not yet reliable, only suitable for washing vegetables and bathing, while drinking water is mainly obtained from rainwater. Photo: Huyen Trang.

Currently, Nghe An province is benefiting from the Central Region Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In 2015, the project continued to implement an inter-communal water supply and sanitation sub-project for four communes: Long Thanh, Khanh Thanh, Vinh Thanh, and Trung Thanh in Yen Thanh district, under the Central Region Water Supply Project funded by the ADB. This project aims to provide water to 5,315 households and public areas.

In mountainous districts, most utilize gravity-fed water supply systems.

In 2016, the entire province aimed to increase the percentage of rural residents using hygienic domestic water from 75% to 78% by the end of 2016, achieving a 3% increase. Of this, the percentage using clean water according to QCVN 02:2009/BYT increased from 40.0% to 44.0%, a 4% increase.

According to the current definition, hygienic water is water that can be used directly or after filtration and meets quality requirements: it is colorless, odorless, tasteless, does not contain components that could affect human health, and can be used for drinking after boiling.

Drinking water, or clean water, is water that meets the minimum purity standards for humans, animals, and plants to drink, consume, absorb, or use with minimal immediate or long-term risk of harm (Ministry of Health standard, QCVN 02:2009/BYT).

Clean water is an important standard for assessing the quality of life.

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