Economic Assessment of Sanitation Interventions in Vietnam - WSP

Economic Assessment of Sanitation Interventions in Vietnam | Annex TablesProjectRationalImplementerProgram approach andactivitiesThree Cities Sanitation ProjectImprovement of environmental sanitation conditions for the three 2nd category cities located in thecore socio-economic development regions, with technical and financial support from donors throughthe World Bank (2000 – 2009). Site U4 is in the current study.Quang Ninh People’s Committee, through Ha Long and Cam Pha Urban Environment Companies(URENCOs)Construction of sewerage, drainage system; revolving fund for toilet improvement via local Women’sUnion; solid waste management, with sanitary landfill; capacity building for urban public services; andorganization of communication awareness participatory programs in environmental issues.Applied sanitation options at the site: combined sewerage and drainage system (primary andsecondary sewers, overflow chambers and elevation pumping stations, centralized wastewatertreatment plant with activated sludge process – SBR followed by 3-step maturation ponds fordisinfection before discharge into the sea).Impacts 435,000 people living in the catchment area have benefitted from reduced flooding. Some 45,000people in the Bai Chay area and 100,000 people in the Hon Gai area have benefited from wastewatercollection and treatment systems. Solid waste from approximately 80,000 households (330,000people) collected and safely disposed in sanitary landfill.The investments in solid waste management have also triggered many changes. With the initial projectinvestment, URENCOs have made great progress in operational capability and financial management,although the budget was not balanced as originally planned.Ha Long City has changed and become more attractive to domestic and foreign visitors and externalinvestors.LessonsThe project demonstrates well the combination of high-tech and low-cost wastewater treatmentoptions (maturation pond), which allow an environmentally friendly pathogenic removal and polishing /maturation treatment step, since treated wastewater is discharged into Ha Long Bay.The septic tank sludge management issue seems to have been solved by the URENCOs inclusion ofwastewater treatment plants and a capacity building component.A solid waste management component, in combination with drainage and sewerage activities reducesnegative impacts and provides more benefits to the whole system. Other components of infrastructureimprovements are also being implemented in Ha Long.Neglecting tertiary sewerage and drainage network is a common approach in urban environmentalsanitation projects. However, this leads to a big gap of the urban sewerage and drainage system,whereby many households, hotels and restaurants remain unconnected to the drainage system, and amajor protion of wastewater runs directly into the sea (Ha Long Bay).An appropriate technical solution for a combined sewerage and drainage network should bedeveloped in order to avoid untreated wastewater from sewers. Many parts of the drain are brokenbecause of trucks passing by, and the drain is not dredged frequently, so wastewater becomes stuck.According to informants, fishermen do not go fishing within a radius of 1 kilometer because of seapollution. Wastewater has overflowed into some people’s houses due to a design fault – the drainagesystem is higher than their floors. Residents complain of a smell coming from the drainage andsewerage system due to covers not being airtight.People are willing to pay a monthly garbage collection fee at a rate of VND15,000/normal household(equivalent to US$0.8). However, some problems remain. For example, agreement has not beenreached between the market management board and the urban environment company. Consequently,garbage collection has not been conducted properly, polluting the surrounding environment.Wastewater leaking from garbage trolleys has created a bad smell in the streets. Trolley gatheringareas are close to inhabited places, impacting upon the environment and people’s health.A low connection ratio, low wastewater and solid waste management fees are again the mainchallenges to project efficiency and sustainability. The wastewater treatment plant is operating atbelow the capacity for which it was designed. Tariffs have not yet covered the operational costs ofthe Bai Chay wastewater treatment plant, and leachate treatment station of landfills.www.wsp.org117