Vietnam has abundant surface and ground water resources.[6] Nevertheless, local shortages can occur during the dry season. For example, the basins of the Dong Nai River in South Vietnam, the Southeast River Cluster, Ma River in North Central Vietnam, Kone River and Huong River are expected to be at risk of exceeding projected water needs in 2020.[3]
The 7 million people in Ho Chi Minh City receive 93% of their drinking water from two treatment plants on the Dong Nai River and the much smaller Sai Gon River, with the remaining 7% coming from overexploited groundwater that is polluted by seawater intrusion and contamination. Dong Nai River, which is regulated further upstream by two dams, has ample water resources to supply the growing city with more water.[7] However, in dry years drinking water supply competes with agricultural uses that may together exceed water availability.
Hanoi with its more than 6 million inhabitants receives 80% of its water from groundwater. Groundwater is polluted by ammonium with a concentration that is 5 to 10 times (7-20 mg/l) higher than the allowed standard.[8] Surface water comes from the Gia Lam plant completed in 1994 [9] and the Thang Long North-Van Tri plant completed in 2004, both financed by Japanese development assistance. It is planned that surface water from the Da River, the Red River and the Duong River will satisfy the growing water demand in the future and gradually replace the existing ground water.[8] During the dry season in 2013 several districts of Hanoi went completely without water.