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Access to sufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services is a crucial requirement for patients during therapy and general well-being in the hospital. However, in low- and middle-income countries, these services are often inadequate, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality of patients. This study aimed at assessing the current situation of WASH services in six District Health Care Facilities (DHCFs) in rural areas of the Mekong Delta provinces, Vietnam. The results showed that these services were available with inappropriate quality, which did not compromise the stakeholders' needs. The revealed WASH infrastructures have raised concerns about the prolonged hospital stays for patients and push nosocomial infections to a high level. The safety of the water supply was doubted as the high E. coli (> 60%) and total coliform incidence (86%) was observed with very low residual chlorine concentration (< 0.1 mg/L) in water quality assessment. Moreover, water supply contained a high concentration of iron (up to 15.55 mg/L) in groundwater in one DHCF. Technical assessment tool analysis proved that the improper management and lack of knowledge by human resources were the primary roots of the observed status WASH services. Improvement of the perceptions of WASH should be done for the hospital staff with collaboration and support from the government to prevent incidents in the future., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Low-lying coastal environments are highly dynamic and sensitive to natural as well as anthropogenic perturbations. Climate change, sea level rise, storms and tsunamis are the natural phenomena that affect the deltaic coasts in Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular. The effects of these phenomena can be exacerbated by human activities such as mangrove deforestation, aquaculture and infrastructure development. Conversely, the low-lying coastal areas are important in the economic development of Southeast Asian countries. In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, coastal areas have been affected by a number of factors, such as climate change, sea level rise, aquaculture, pollution and tourism-related activities in recent decades. The present study investigated shoreline changes, expansion of aquaculture ponds, soil salinity changes and salinity intrusion in the river systems along the coastal areas of Ben Tre Province in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta between 1998 and 2020 using satellite imagery and field data. Variations in erosion and accretion were found to be not unique along the coast of Ben Tre. There was a rapid expansion of aquaculture ponds between 1998 and 2015 and a slight decline since then. Soil salinity has been increased between 1998 and 2020; it is seen from recent satellite data that soil is becoming more saline in the inland areas of Ben Tre. Saltwater intrusion into the rivers of Ben Tre is considered associated with El Niño-La Niña conditions. It is suggested that reforestation of abandoned shrimp ponds in Ben Tre by mangrove vegetation can be effective as a bioshield against coastal hazards, such as sea level rise and shoreline erosion., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

This study assessed the surface water quality in Dong Thap province during 2013-2023 using multivariate statistical techniques. Water quality index (WQI), Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) were determined based on monitoring data for parameters. The findings showed that only some water samples had pH values below the permissible standard, while 95.5% of samples exceeded the standard of Escherichia coli in surface water. In some years, 100% samples having BOD 5 , TSS, NH 4 + , and E. coli exceeded the permissible limits. The PCA identified four, five, and seven major potential sources during 2013-2015, 2016-2020, and 2021-2023, respectively, explaining 75.9%, 63.0%, and 63.0% of variation in the corresponding duration times. For heavy metals, the number of water samples containing As, Cu, and Pb exceeding the water permissible limits were 15.5%, 21.4%, and 2.8% samples in 2021, respectively, but no heavy metal was above standard in 2022 and 2023. The evaluation of average water quality based on WQI showed that 79.31% and 76.19% of the sample sites were classified to be average during 2016-2020 and 2021-2023, respectively, and others were bad water quality. However, the water quality showed an improving trend with 70% of monitoring positions considered as good water quality in 2023. The results showed that anthropogenic activities and hydrological regime were the main source of pollution. This study provides guidance to policymakers in developing water management strategies to have proper actions to prevent water pollution., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: This research did not involve the use of animals. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

This study assessed the surface water quality in Can Tho city, Vietnam, using a combination of water quality, pollution indices, and multivariate statistical methods. Surface water samples were collected at 38 locations with a frequency of 4 times in 2020 (March, June, September, and December) and at the time of high and low tides to analyze for 18 indicators. Results showed that surface water in Can Tho city was contaminated with organic matters and microorganisms. Parameters of pH, turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), N-NH 4 + , and N-NO 3 - are significantly increased with low tide. Comprehensive pollution index indicated mild to moderately polluted water in March, June, and September and moderately to severely polluted water in December. Organic pollution index revealed that surface water quality in all locations was polluted with organic matters during the study period especially in March and December. The water quality index also indicated that water quality in December was mostly classified as moderate and bad. The principal component analysis indicated that surface water quality could be affected by five main sources that explain 64.40% of the total variation. This significantly caused the fluctuation of pH, temperature, turbidity, TSS, DO, BOD, COD, N-NH 4 + , P-PO 4 3- , Fe, and As, which should all be the focus for future monitoring. Surface water management in Can Tho city should also emphasize on the wastewater from urbanization and agriculture, which has been recognized by the analysis to have highest contribution to organic, nutrient, and microbial pollutants in the water bodies., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Groundwater salinization is one of the most severe environmental problems in coastal aquifers worldwide, causing exceeding salinity in groundwater supply systems for many purposes. High salinity concentration in groundwater can be detected several kilometers inland and may result in an increased risk for coastal water supply systems and human health problems. This study investigates the impacts of groundwater pumping practices and regional groundwater flow dynamics on groundwater flow and salinity intrusion in the coastal aquifers of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta using the SEAWAT model-a variable-density groundwater flow and solute transport model. The model was constructed in three dimensions (3D) and accounted for multi-aquifers, variation of groundwater levels in neighboring areas, pumping, and paleo-salinity. Model calibration was carried for 13 years (2000 to 2012), and validation was conducted for 4 years (2013 to 2016). The best-calibrated model was used to develop prediction models for the next 14 years (2017 to 2030). Six future scenarios were introduced based on pumping rates and regional groundwater levels. Modeling results revealed that groundwater pumping activities and variation of regional groundwater flow systems strongly influence groundwater level depletion and saline movement from upper layers to lower layers. High salinity (>2.0 g/L) was expected to expand downward up to 150 m in depth and 2000 m toward surrounding areas in the next 14 years under increasing groundwater pumping capacity. A slight recovery in water level was also observed with decreasing groundwater exploitation. The reduction in the pumping rate from both local and regional scales will be necessary to recover groundwater levels and protect fresh aquifers from expanding paleo-saline in groundwater., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)