Wastewater Management and Sanitation Practices in Vietnam

Dr. Duong Thanh An Director, Department of Policy and Legal Affairs

Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) of Vietnam

BACKGROUND Total population by 1st Nov 2013:

90 million 766 cities/towns with 30% of total

population Rapid urbanization, industrialization

and climate change increase pressure on the water resources

Over the past 20 years, the Govt. of Vietnam has made considerable effort to develop urban sanitation policies, legislations and regulations and to invest in urban sanitation including wastewater treatment systems

Process of urbanization in Vietnam over last 25 years and forecast to 2020

Year 1986 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 2010 2011 2020

Number of urban areas

480 500 550 649 689 750 - 760 1000

Urban population (million)

11.87 13.77 14.94 19.47 22.6 25.4 30.4 29.56 46.0

Rate of urban population of the total population

19.3 20.0 20.75 24.18 26.7 29.6 33.0 34 45.0

WASTEWATER SECTOR PERFOMANCE IN VIETNAM

Wastewater services provided to urban poor Access to toilets is now 94%, with 90% of HHs using septic tanks as a

means of on-site treatment 60% of HHs dispose of wastewater to a public combined

drainage/sewerage system By 2012 some 17 urban wastewater systems had been built in big

cities (Hanoi, Danang and HCMC), and another 5 systems in provincial towns with total capacity of 530,000CMD

Currently some 32 new wastewater combined systems are in the design/construction phase

During the past decade annual sanitation sector investment has been USD 150 million or USD 2.1 billion for drainage and wastewater during 1995-2009. This represents 0.45% of GDP annually.

ACHIEVEMENTS - Since 1998, the Govt. has initiated policies and provided investment to improve urban sanitation resulting in significant progress in development of the wastewater sector

Critical Issues Much of wastewater disposed direct informally to the drainage system

– only 10% is treated Only 4% of sludge is treated – Fecal sludge management is generally

poor in most cities The focus of wastewater expenditure has been in construction of

treatment facilities without appropriate collection system Cost recovery of the capital and O&M costs of the wastewater systems

is generally low – User fees have not cover the operation cost yet. Institutional arrangements: wastewater enterprises having limited

autonomy in operation, management and development of system Financing needs are very high,

estimated to be USD 8.3 billion to provide the services to about 36 million of urban population by 2025.

Policies A comprehensive legal framework in the sector currently exits in

Vietnam. A policy of encouraging private sector participation in urban

infrastructure is supported by Govt. MOF Circular 230/2009/TT-BTC creates favorable tax conditions for

enterprises dealing with environmental protection activities Govt. Decree 04/2009/ND-CP and Decree 59/2007/ND-CP supports

provision for private sector participant in the sanitation The privatization process is taking place in water supply and urban

wastewater companies. Wastewater Fee (Decree 88) and Environmental Protection Fee

(Decree 67) are important development in the urban and industrial wastewater sector addressing key constraints.

Sludge management: currently there is no effective sludge management being practiced in Vietnam, mostly by private providers

Effluent standards: QCVN 24-2009 (MONRE) common practice

Institutional Organization

MoC, MoNRE

MoC, MoNRE

MPI, MoF, MoNRE

PPCs, CPCs

Drainage, Sewerage, Sanitation Companies

MoC, MoNRE

Formulation of legal

documents

Programs, Plans,

Projects

Budget allocation,

management

Capital investment

System Management

and O&M

Monitoring, Standards

DoC, MoNRE

DPI, MoF, MoNRE Investors

Firms, other

organizations

Related entities

Source: Grontmij – WSP, 2012

URBAN SANITATION SITUATION IN VIETNAM

Sanitation coverage

ESTIMATED TOTAL POLLUTION LOAD

(Unit: BOD5 tons/day)

Hanoi Hai Phong Ho Chi Minh city

Domestic wastewater

161.22 55.119 213.7

Hospital wastewater

0.912 0.3 3.0

Industrial wastewater

60.782 Insufficient data

Insufficient data

Source: 2009, PCD, Project for building the wastewater pollution control action plan in Hanoi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh city

ESTIMATED POLLUTION CONTRIBUTION IN HANOI

Source: 2009, PCD, Project for building the wastewater pollution control action plan in Hanoi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh city

Type Percentage

Domestic wastewater 78,7%

Hospital wastewater 20,7%

Industrial wastewater 0,5%

Sanitation Projects in the big cities with centralized treatment technology

Sanitation Development in the provincial cities and towns

2006: WWTPs in Da Lat City, 7000 CMD and in Ban Me Thuot, 8125 CMD (financed by DANIDA) with low-cost mechanism and biological technology

2007: WWTP in Bai Chay with Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) 2009: WWTP in Ha Khanh with SBR 2011: WWTP in Chau Doc with Aerated Lagoon 2012: WWTP in Bac Giang, with Oxidation Ditch

A feature of the sanitation development in most urban areas in Vietnam is one of unplanned expansion which create difficulties in providing

infrastructure to meet demand.

Decentralized Wastewater Systems The application of decentralized and on-site

sanitation systems has been a mixed experience in Vietnam

The number of small-scale decentralized wastewater collection and small-scale serving treatment systems has increased significantly over recent years.

Through an on-going study U3SAP, MoC has introduced decentralized low-cost sanitation options into the national context as a promising solution for low density communities in urban and rural areas.

Technical guidelines for decentralized sanitation solutions are now being compiled by the MoC and MoH.

A number of DWW systems have been installed Decentralized, low-cost sanitation systems are being implemented in

small towns under a WSP supported by FINIDA: Cho Moi & Cho Ra (Bac Kan), Nuoc Hai (Cao Bang), Minh Duc (Hai Phong), An Bai (Thai Binh)

Some DEWATS projects have been initiated by communities with

external technical and financial support from donors: Community-based DWWM systems in Lai Xa village, Kim Chung

commune, Hoa Duc district of Hanoi (YWAM NGO and MONRE, 2007)

Cluster wastewater treatment system in Kieu Ky hamlet, Gia Lam district of Hanoi (East Vietnam – ADB, 2012), Viem Xa village, Bac Ninh, at schools in Vinh City and at a local market in Can Tho (Wastewater and solid waste management program, GIZ, 2010-2013)

Decentralized, Pre-fabricated WWTP for the apartment/office buildings

DWWM in small towns, and in peri-urban areas

Bac Kan Bac Ninh

Kieu Ky Lai Xa

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

At the national level: o Develop appropriate financing policies and

mechanism for sanitation sector o Develop policies to address utilities reform in the

sanitation sector o Develop policies to encourage the Public-Private-

Partnership (PPP) and Private Sector Participation (PSP)

o Allow some flexibility in effluent discharge quality based on receiving waters

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

At the local level: o Sanitation planning needs to adopt a strategic

sanitation planning approach at the city level o Selection of sanitation technical options depending on

the local situation o Ensure household connections are an integral part of

wastewater system development o Prepare a roadmap to increase reveue and achive

cost recovery o Capacity building for local stakeholders o Enhance community awareness through IEC

campaign

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION!