The Hanoi People's Committee has assigned the municipal Department of Construction to study the establishment of a center for managing, regulating and supervising clean water supply in the city, local media reported.

The center will be operated with smart technology. Hanoi's authority will require all clean water plants and distributors as well as water quality monitoring stations to connect with the center to manage, regulate and supervise clean water supply in the city.

Pollution treatment at the Da river's clean water source. Photo: Le Phu

According to the municipal People's Committee, the move aims to improve water quality provided for Hanoi’s residents, ensure security and safety of clean water sources in the city, and meet the requirements of building a smart city in the time ahead.

To enhance management and improve the efficiency of Hanoi's clean water supply system, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung has assigned the Department of Construction, the Department of Planning and Architecture, the Construction Planning Institute and investors of clean water plants to review the entire clean water supply system in the city.

The Hanoi mayor also required the Hanoi police together with the Capital Command, the Department of Construction and other relevant units to develop a security plan for the city’s water supply system.

The Hanoi People's Committee asked the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, together with the Department of Construction and the municipal police to guide water plants to set up a zoning for protecting input water and develop a plan to protect water sources.

Besides, the municipal People's Committee assigned the Department of Justice and the Department of Construction to study legal documents that regulate the responsibility of clean water producers, suppliers and distributors with the city’s authority.

The proposed establishment of such a monitoring center comes after Vinaconex Water Supply JSC (Viwasupco)'s contamination scandal last month.

Viwasupco currently supplies potable water to 250,000 families in 10 districts in southwestern Hanoi, with 300,000 cubic meters of water per day. Around one million people or one eighth of the capital city's residents depend on its supply.