Can Tho City People's Committee has just issued an official dispatch to organize the implementation of urgent measures to ensure domestic water supply in the dry season of 2026 in the area.
According to statistics, the domestic water supply situation in many communes and wards in the old Soc Trang province is seriously lacking, especially in rural areas. By the end of 2025, the urban water supply system will only meet about 80% of the demand, while the rural domestic water supply rate will only reach about 68%, and 32% of households will not use clean water. Even in areas with water supply systems, water sources are not guaranteed to be stable in both quantity and quality.
To proactively respond in the dry season of 2026, especially during the upcoming Binh Ngo Lunar New Year, Can Tho City People's Committee requests water supply units to urgently inspect, repair, maintain and upgrade the system of stations, water plants and pipeline networks; ensure continuous and stable water supply for people. Units with reserve drilled wells to respond to saltwater intrusion must operate and maintain regularly to be ready for exploitation when necessary.
For scattered residential areas without water supply systems, units proactively balance resources to expand the appropriate network, and at the same time strengthen inspection and supervision of water quality and monitor saltwater intrusion impacts for timely handling.
In case the water supply project is heavily affected by drought and saltwater intrusion, even though it has been exploited to the maximum according to the license, there is still a shortage of water, units are temporarily allowed to exploit beyond the permitted flow but not exceed the designed capacity and must ensure water quality.
When serious water shortages occur, units proactively open free water supply points, arrange mobile water tank trucks, prioritize hospitals, schools and key residential areas; rotational water supply must be coordinated with Commune and Ward People's Committees to organize according to reasonable time frames.
For the Center for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation of Can Tho City, urgently review and overcome degraded water supply stations; check the condition of drilled wells, report and drill for replacement when needed. The Center is approved to drill 1-2 additional backup wells for stations with only 1 well; exploration combined exploitation wells that have not completed procedures are allowed to operate temporarily until the end of April 2026. 4 sub-project No. 02 stations in Cu Lao Dung and Vinh Chau (old) are allowed to operate temporarily until the end of April 2026 to promptly supply water to people in drought and salinity areas.
Previously, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City had a document informing the current situation and investment plan to supply clean water in rural areas of Soc Trang province (old). Through summarizing reports from 42/43 communes and wards, the situation of domestic clean water shortage is still common, even during the rainy season.
To overcome this, it is necessary to invest in expanding about 1.37 million meters of pipelines, serving more than 43,200 households; at the same time, more than 30,100 households living in dispersed areas must apply household-scale water supply solutions. Initially, the City Center for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation has arranged 37 free water supply points, ready with mobile water tank trucks. In the long term, in the period 2026–2030, Can Tho City is expected to invest about 1,022 billion VND to implement 22 centralized water supply projects for the rural area of Soc Trang (old).
