title: The challenges of water governance in Ho Chi Minh City.
abstract: Population growth, urbanization, pollution, and climate change pose urgent water challenges in cities. In this study, the sustainability of integrated water resources management in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was evaluated using the City Blueprint approach. The City Blueprint is a set of 24 dedicated indicators divided over 8 categories (i.e., water security, water quality, drinking water, sanitation, infrastructure, climate robustness, biodiversity and attractiveness, and governance including public participation). The analysis showed that the rapid increase of water use for urban, industrial, and agricultural activities in HCMC has resulted in depletion of groundwater and severe pollution of both groundwater and surface water. Surface water quality, groundwater quality, biodiversity, and the sanitation of domestic and industrial wastewater are matters that need serious improvement. Current and future water supply in HCMC is at risk. HCMC can cope with it, but the 7 governance gaps as described by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are major obstacles for HCMC. Rainwater harvesting, pollution reduction, as well as wastewater reuse are among the practical options. Wastewater reuse could lower the water stress index to 10%. The window to do this is narrow and rapidly closing as a result of the unprecedented urbanization and economic growth of this region.
authors.affiliation: KWR Watercycle Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.|Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cornelis J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.affiliation: Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMCUT), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nguyen P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Dan
authors.affiliation: Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dieperink
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D058735:Environmental Policy; D060587:Groundwater; D011158:Population Growth; D014507:Urbanization; D014744:Vietnam; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Blue City Index; City Blueprint; Climate change; Water pollution; Water stress index