HCMC to use $18 mln water pump to ease flooding

HCM City authorities will put into operation a huge water pumping station to ease the flooding in several districts, the Management Board of the city Environmental Hygiene Project said.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities will put into operation a huge water pumping station to ease the frequent flooding in several districts, the Management Board of the city Environmental Hygiene Project said.

The water pumping station on Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Binh Thanh District, will be put into operation next month.

After 9 years of construction at a cost of US$18 million, the station will be completed in July with a capacity of 64,000 cubic meters per hour, the Board said.

Located on Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh District, the station will help prevent the flooding caused by heavy rains or high tides in seven districts, including Districts 1, 3 and 10 and Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh and Go Vap Districts.

Under the project, rainwater and wastewater from households will flow into the 70-km sewer system along 69 streets in these districts before entering a pipeline, which is 8.9 km long and 3 meters wide, to be transmitted to the station, where 12 huge pumps will discharge them to the Saigon River.

The station is equipped with advanced facilities to treat the wastewater before discharging it to the river, contributing to environmental protection, the Board said.

In case a heavy downpour that exceeds the handling capacity of the station, the excessive rainwater amount will be transmitted to 35 discharging wells that will bring it to the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal.

After the station is put in use, all the sewers that currently discharge household wastewater into the canal will be sealed up. That means the canal will receive rainwater and water from the Saigon River only, making itself cleaner than present.

The cost of operating the station is estimated at about $1 million per year, the Board said.