Assessment of surface water quality and some main rivers’ capacity of receiving wastewater in Ca Mau province, Vietnam

Surface water from rivers plays a significant role in socio-economic development in Ca Mau Province. It supplies freshwater for agriculture and aquaculture. Faced with the pressures of development, surface water quality in Ca Mau Province has been being at stake. The aim of this paper is to assess the water quality status and wastewater receiving capacity of the main rivers of Ca Mau Province. The monitoring results and calculated Water Quality Index (WQI) indicated that almost surface water in Ca Mau Province was heavily polluted and did not meet the irrigation purpose. Most rivers and canals in Ca Mau City were not able to receive any more contaminant loads of COD, BOD5, N-NH4+, and P-PO43-. To protect the water resource for sustainable development, consequently, it is important to propose water management solutions for the local government to regulate wastewater discharge into surface water bodies in Ca Mau Province.