Điện Biên province has mobilized and integrated diverse resources, prioritizing investments in water supply works tailored to topographic conditions and practical demands across each locality, particularly in rural and disadvantaged areas. Among these, constructing gravity-fed water supply systems is viewed as a practical solution, helping deliver domestic water closer to residents in localities lacking conditions to access centralized water supply networks.

For instance, the provincial People’s Committee recently approved the receipt of an aid package to construct five model gravity-fed water supply systems for residents across the former villages of Khong Nưa, Phai Mướng, Phiêng Hin, Thín A, and Thín B (Chiềng Sinh commune), sponsored by Vietnam Health, Education & Literature Projects (VNHELP) with over VND 5.1 billion. The project implementation period extends through December 19, 2026; the donor will construct five complete, turnkey gravity-fed water supply works. Synchronously invested components include collection tanks, sedimentation and filtration basins, conveyance pipeline networks, and distribution lines delivering water directly to households as well as community water points.

Given the fragmented mountainous topography and dispersed population, constructing, managing, and operating water facilities across numerous localities continue to face hurdles. Across several highland areas, residents still depend on natural ravine and stream sources; during the dry season, localized water shortages persist. Many long-standing facilities have deteriorated, silted up, or suffered damage, impairing water storage and supply capacities. Therefore, alongside expanding the distribution network, safeguarding water sources, upgrading storage and regulation capacity, and maintaining stable facility operations hold vital significance.

Over recent years, the province has progressively bolstered water storage and regulation capacities through reservoirs and irrigation works. The entire province currently operates 15 functional irrigation reservoirs with a combined capacity of approximately 69.34 million m³. To date, the Huổi Trạng Tai reservoir has been completed and commissioned with a storage capacity of 2.506 million m³; three urgent reservoirs - Hồng Khếnh, Pe Luông, and Na Hươm - were repaired and upgraded with a total expenditure of VND 100.822 billion.

Alongside investing in source-generating facilities, water supply networks have been modernized to elevate operational efficiency. At the Mường Nhé Water Plant, flash mixing reaction tanks and lamella clarifiers were renovated and replaced. The Điện Biên Water Supply Joint Stock Company invested in online monitoring systems tracking water quality, flow rate, and pressure; installed additional monitoring equipment for influent and effluent water quality across plants; and mounted raw water quality monitoring apparatus at the Điện Biên Phủ Water Plant. Pipeline maintenance, flushing, and network expansions were also carried out across numerous localities. Extending the D315 pipeline and expanding supply networks in Nà Hỳ, Sam Mứn, and Thanh An contributed to elevating supply capacity, step-by-step meeting local consumption needs.

While network expansion delivers clean water to more households, quality control serves as the prerequisite ensuring sources are genuinely safe. The provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No.33/2023/QĐ-UBND promulgating local technical regulations on clean water quality used for domestic purposes, while enforcing Ministry of Health standards and regulations, including QCVN 01-1:2024/BYT and Circular No.52/2024/TT-BYT. Quality surveillance is conducted by monitoring technical parameters alongside routine and unannounced sampling and laboratory testing.

Periodically, the provincial Center for Disease Control collects water samples across provincial water plants to analyze indicators such as color, odor, taste, turbidity, pH, residual chlorine content, and E. coli bacteria. Testing results indicate that verified parameters remain within permissible thresholds, with no parameters exceeding statutory limits.

Currently, the Điện Biên Water Supply Joint Stock Company serves nearly 45,000 customers, with its supply network continuously expanded and upgraded. Service coverage extends beyond urban centers to reach numerous communes and remote areas, accommodating rising domestic consumption demands. To date, the province holds 1,030 centralized rural domestic water supply works, supplying water to 96.89% of rural households. In urban areas, the proportion of households utilizing clean water meeting technical standards has reached 99.9%; the proportion of rural households utilizing standardized clean water stands at 20.01%.

For the 2026-2030 period, Điện Biên identifies continued priority for investments in source-generating infrastructure, multi-purpose water storage facilities, and domestic supply systems, particularly in highland, ethnic minority, and border zones and areas facing recurring shortages. The province targets 100% of urban households having access to standardized clean water by 2030; striving for 55% of rural households using clean water meeting local technical standards, prioritizing remote, isolated, and ethnic minority regions. Concurrently, the Điện Biên Water Supply Joint Stock Company aims to increase production volume from 7.647 million m³ in 2026 to 8.561 million m³ by 2031; commercial water volume is projected to rise from 6.5 million m³ to 7.461 million m³, while reducing the non-revenue water loss rate down to 13.8%.

Phạm Quang Tuấn, Director-General of the Điện Biên Water Supply Joint Stock Company, stated that to accomplish these targets, the province aims to mobilize diversified funding sources - from the central budget, official development assistance (ODA), and preferential loan credit to other legitimate resources. Concurrently, the sector will accelerate the application of science, technology, and digital transformation in water resource management. Modernizing surveillance systems, establishing shared databases, and optimizing operational management are expected to make water governance more proactive and efficient.

Expanding the distribution network and elevating water quality represent not merely infrastructure development tasks, but a vital journey to improve public livelihoods and protect community health.