YCDC aims to reduce groundwater pumping in Yangon’s outskirts

A map from JICA’s plan to maximize water distribution to Yangon.
A map from JICA’s plan to maximize water distribution to Yangon.

The Yangon City Development Committee will try to reduce groundwater pumping by improving public water distribution, said Yangon Mayor Maung Maung Soe at yesterday’s regional parliament session.

The mayor’s statement was in response to a question from regional MP Than Swe of Mingalar Taung Nyunt Constituency-2. The MP asked about YCDC’s plans to improve the water supply and sewage systems.

The mayor also said YCDC is building new water purification plants in order to increase distribution.

“In addition to the Hlawga and Gyo Phyu reservoirs, the committee is working complete the Ngamoeyeik water supply project, which will be able to distribute about 90 million gallons of water per day,” he added.

YCDC already supplies 205 million gallons of water per day, while another 20 million comes from groundwater. A 2013 YCDC study estimated that the daily demand for Yangon’s then-population of 5.14 million people was 514 million gallons per day. Yangon’s population has since risen to more than 7 million people.

The mayor also said an additional 40 million gallons per day will come from the Lagonpyin dam project, located near Thonegwa Village in South Dagon Township. He said the project is 98 percent complete and that by 2020, the project will provide 10 million gallons per day to the Thilawa SEZ and 30 million to Thaketa, Dawbon, and the four Dagon Myothit townships, as well to other industrial zones.

Furthermore, YCDC has drafted a plan with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to supply the city with 240 million gallons of water per day from the Kokkowa River.

Groundwater testing conducted between December 2013 and November 2015 found low levels of oxygen and high levels of organic compounds in Yangon’s groundwater, which pose a threat to local ecosystems.

It found high levels of salt, toxic metals, and chemicals in the Pan Hlaing and Hlaing rivers, as well as harmful levels of mercury in Yangon’s Ngamoeyeik Creek, which is believed to have come from small-scale gold mining operations in Kachin State.

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