Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Huynh Thu Thuy, Luong Chan Quang & et al.
Pasteur Institute –
A survey on using drinking water sources were carried out at 3 provinces in Mekong Delta in January 2002. The sample size was 1639 with the method of 30-cluster randomized sampling. The subjects to be surveyed were households. The results found that about 70% (35%-92%) of households used surface water as a main drinking water source; 17% drank safe water (2.0-48%), and 10,8% (0-20.8%) rain water. Surface water was a main source to drink but its polluted risks were rather high: nearly 40% of the sites getting river water were near fish latrines within 10m; about 26% near breeding animal facilities within 10m. Treated measure of surface water was only cleaned by alum; chlorine was not used as a decontaminate substance in 80% of households, while about 20% of that drank unboiling water.
Another survey also conducted and showed that safe water supply stations developing at the villages were deep underground or treated surface water. The output capacities of these waterworks were rather high. This water supply model was feasible and expanding in Mekong Delta However, proportion of households getting safe water was still slow (2-4% of households using underground water, 10% treated river water) because the poor are not enough finance to pay water-clock and pipe, and expenditure for expanding water pipe to remote area was too high to investment.