TVU– 12.10. 2016. The university officially launches Water Conservation for Domestic and Hygiene Use Project in Tra Vinh Province. The project is sponsored by the U.S Embassy in Bangkok with the capital value of USD 50,000.
This is a one-year project aiming to raise the awareness of water scarcity in the rural communities. The project also focuses on encouraging local residents to have effective water storage strategies for dry seasons and to minimize the risk of water scarcity as well as saline water invasion. Additionally, the expansion of implementing models on water-saving agriculture is another goal of this project.
The project is especially beneficial to households in three communes of Tra Vinh city including Duc My, Dai An and My Chanh. In the winter- spring crop of 2015-2016, Dai An and My Chanh experienced serious water shortages due to saline water invasion. This was the prime reason for failure in vegetable crops in these regions. Such an issue in water scarcity has also posed a major threat to over two thousands of households in Duc My commune.
With respect to the complete water solutions, Dr. Nguyen Thai Son, TVU Deputy Dean of School of Engineering and Technology, introduced a rainwater harvesting model. The model is equipped with a filtering system and a rainwater tank which is capable of containing 4 m³. Not only rainwater but also water from other sources can be stored in this model.
Additionally, Mr. Pham Chi Tung, Deputy Director of Center for Climate Change Adaptation Research and Community Development Support, informed that the center has successfully implemented water –saving irrigation techniques on taros and water-melons in Dai An and My Chanh communes. Such a measure effectively reduced approximately 30-40% amount of water consumption.
The project covers various activities including supplying rainwater tanks, fostering the implementation of water-saving models for vegetable culturing process, raising community awareness of saving water and conducting workshops in co-operation with relevant partners and local authorities. However, the project is expected to put greater emphasis on the first two activities.
By: Huynh Ngoc Tai – TVU School of Foreign Languages
