The waterscape of groundwater exploitation for domestic uses in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This study applied the waterscapes framework to investigate the socio-political contestations associated with water use patterns and community-environment interactions in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In particular, groundwater resources were investigated via a mixed-method study combining water sampling, social surveys, a Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI), and GIS. In total, 33 groundwater samples were collected between June and August 2018, measuring pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, nitrite, nitrates, ammonia, sulfates, aluminum, iron, arsenic, and total coliform. An in-depth interview was conducted with a key stakeholder providing water service to the District, and 100 household surveys were administered via face-to-face interviews with community residents. Despite piped water availability throughout the district, we found that the community still utilizes groundwater for general domestic use. High concentrations of relevant pollutants were detected in the wells, substantially consistent with the respondents complains about the water smells and turbidity. The gastrointestinal disease was a known issue, yet less than a quarter of respondents associated these symptoms with the polluted water resources. Extensive groundwater use implies an economic artifact associated with the recent social experiences of the predominantly migrant worker community. Results from individual water quality measurements were incorporated into a GWQI following the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment approach. The calculated values were subsequently incorporated into GIS to visualize the spatial distributions of the groundwater quality across the study area, which were strongly associated with the results from the large-scale survey. The government of Vietnam has developed an official WQI guideline; however, it only addresses surface water with a different format than the GWQI applied in this study. Our GWQI henceforth contributed a prototype evaluation tool that could be applied in other urban areas of Vietnam to help assess groundwater resource health.

Automated summary

Despite the availability of piped water in District 12, residents still heavily rely on groundwater for daily use, leading to high concentrations of pollutants in the wells. The study found a disconnect between gastrointestinal diseases and polluted water sources among respondents. The Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI) developed in this study could serve as a valuable evaluation tool for assessing groundwater health in urban areas of Vietnam.