DETERMINANTS OF RURAL WATER SUPPLY SUSTAINABILITY: A CASE STUDY IN QUANG NINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM

Abstract

Rural water supply plays a critical role in protecting public health and promoting sustainable socio-economic development. However, in many localities, rural water supply systems still face limitations in terms of access to standard-compliant domestic water, infrastructure capacity, and management and operation models. This paper presents an initial assessment of the current status of rural domestic water supply in Quang Ninh province through the analysis of water access coverage, conditions of centralized water supply facilities and system management models, via questionnaires (270 households) and in-depth interviews (14 technical officers and managers). The results indicate that the rural water supply system in Quang Ninh province has shown significant improvements in recent years, particularly in peri-urban areas where integration with urban water supply systems is feasible. Nevertheless, considerable disparities remain among regions, especially in mountainous and island areas, along with constraints related to treatment technologies and management models at several centralized water supply facilities. The findings demonstrate that governance capacity (technical management and supporting framework)—rather than infrastructure availability alone—constitutes the primary determinant of rural water supply sustainability.