Authors : Maria Luisa Baino-Salingay, Assela Pathirana, Jeroen Rijke, Peter van der Steen, Chris Zevenbergen, Nguyen Hong Quan and Ky Quang Vinh
Abstract: The study involves water quality assessment of the surface waters of Can Tho City, Vietnam. Water samples were obtained in six strategic sites. The mean pH values were within set Vietnam standards. The mean conductivity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) values were higher in low tides and in densely populated urban districts of An Hoa and An Cu. There are no set standard for Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Phosphorus (TP) in Vietnam. But Mekong River Commission-Environmental Program of 2006 (MRC-EP) issued standards for TN and TP of values not exceeding 1.7 and 0.13 mg/L , respectively. Unfortunately, all sampling sites failed in these criterions. TN means in rural sites were 4.6 and 5.2 mg/L and in four urban sites, mean ranges from 8.6-10.1 mg/L . For TP, the rural and urban sites have means of 0.2 and 0.6 mg/L, respectively. In rural sites, the mean Dissolved Oxygen (DO) fall in B2 classification while Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) values in A2 classifications. This is worth looking into as communities in these rural sites use surface waters for domestic and agricultural needs. In urban sites, the COD and BOD5 values fall in B1 classification while DO mean values were way beyond the set Vietnam’s maximum tolerable limits. The national and local government may review and assess the management of its water resources. To have a sustainable economic development in agriculture, food safety and security, human health and safety, sustainable water resource management is necessary.
Maria Luisa Baino-Salingay, Assela Pathirana, Jeroen Rijke, Peter van der Steen, Chris Zevenbergen, Nguyen Hong Quan and Ky Quang Vinh, 2017. Water Quality Assessment in Selected Surface Waters in Can-Tho City, Vietnam. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 12: 4555-4561.