Government Decree 117 on clean water supply regulates that suppliers have to pay for installing water pipeline systems and water meters. For this reason, the decree states that households using less than 4cu.m of water will still have to pay fees for the minimum quantity of water use.

The Ministry of Construction has received more than 60 petition letters from water suppliers and producers asking that the decree be reconsidered. There is a small number of households using less than 4cu.m of water but most of them are poor.

How will it be changed?

There are various suggestions. They include keeping the minimum payment, the equivalent of 4cu.m of water, intact but compensating households with only a few people and households which are poor. One opinion suggests the regulations be abrogated if households pay for the water pipeline and meters. Another contribution recommended water supply companies be permitted to collect monthly fees until they retrieved their investment capital. Many people supported the inclusion of the water pipeline and meter installation and maintenance costs into water prices.

But many people said the application of monthly subscription fees on water use recommended by the Viet Nam Water Supply and Drainage Association would cause a loss to households using less than 4 cubic metres of water. Is that true?

It is difficult to please everyone. The thing is how to put forth a project reasonable to the majority. It will not be okay if amendments are made to satisfy only a small number of people while the majority will suffer loss. At present, many opinions support charging for water use by a monthly subscription fee or a fee based on water use.

There is also an opinion which supports raising water prices for households and units using water for production purposes and using that money to install and maintain water pipeline systems for household use?

It is not enough to only use the increase to install and maintain water pipelines. Water prices must rise otherwise water supply companies will not make a profit. Many opinions say the current water prices are low but careful consideration is needed before raising them.