A century-old water tower and its younger counterparts across Ho Chi Minh City, icons of the city’s hub, could well become a thing of the past.

Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) announced earlier this month that it is devising plans to remove seven out of eight mushroom-shaped water reservoirs in the southern metropolis which have been marooned for over 40 years.

Such attempts are meant to prevent possible dangers posed by the reservoirs to the locales and people, they underlined.

Of course, the towers have their own tale to share.

130-year-old tower

Housed within Sawaco’s premises, located on Cong Truong Quoc Te Street in District 3, a time-honored water tower is conspicuous even from afar.

It is the second reservoir that the French first built in the southern hub between 1878 and 1886.

Standing approximately 25 meters tall, the towering, oval-shaped structure has two black, spherical water tanks made of stainless-steel overhead.

The surrounding walls, which are 1.6 to 2 meters thick, are meant to absorb pressure and thus obviate concrete pillars.

The tower’s highlights include several doors, windows and large ventilation holes, all of which feature intricate details.

The French-built, 130-year-old water tower which has been recognized as one of Ho Chi Minh City's relics. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The entire ground and first floors, once used by Sawaco as an office and archive storage area, are now left vacant.

These age-old architectural features are among the elements that appeal most to visitors, particularly foreigners.

According to various archival sources, after occupying Gia Dinh Citadel in what is now Ho Chi Minh City in 1858, the French embarked on work to improve the municipal infrastructure.

Apart from traffic groundwork and administrative agencies, they began work on the water distribution system to supply clean running water to their residents and locals.

The system comprised water towers which were named Thesvenet after a French civil engineer who, at the time, was appointed as director of the Public Works Department.

The French’s first water tower was built between 1878 and 1880 in the vicinity of Con Rua (Turtle) Lake, one of the city’s hallmarks.

The sturdy cylindrical structure resembled an observatory with a spiral staircase leading to the top.

Following the completion of their second water tower in 1886, the French went on to build a clutch of “captage” (groundwater wells) to cater to residents’ burgeoning demand for clean water.

During the rainy season, water from these wells gushed to the central well, while a pump was used to do the job in the dry season.

From the central well, water was processed before being pumped into the water towers and distributed to local households for daily consumption.

In 1921, the French’s first water tower near Con Rua Lake was demolished and superseded by a monument and working site.

The other tower was discontinued in 1965.

In early 2014, the municipal People’s Committee decided to hand over a nearly 8,300-m² plot, including the tower, to Intersquare JSC, a local company, for a project to build a commercial high-rise complex.

Bao, Sawaco’s office head, recalled that the news sparked strong reactions among the company’s veteran and retired staff, who insisted the tower, symbolic of the city’s water distribution utility, be retained at all costs.

The French-built, 130-year-old water tower which has been recognized as one of Ho Chi Minh City's relics. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Sawaco representatives then sought intervention from relevant agencies.

In April 2014, the People’s Committee decided to keep the tower and recognize it as a city-level architectural and artistic structure.

Danh Quy, director of Intersquare JSC, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in a recent interview that instead of merely retaining the tower’s 600-m² area, his company has formulated a plan to preserve and revamp the structure on an area doubling the original location in a bid to turn the spot into a tourist attraction.

He revealed that they will embark on the project later this year.

Marooned

Apart from the 130-year-old water tower, Ho Chi Minh City is home to seven smaller water towers built nearly half a century ago.

These mushroom-shaped reservoirs, scattered in different locations across the city, cost quite a lot to build and maintain, but have never been put into use.

According to the water utility’s archives, between 1940 and 1950 the administrative border lines of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City now) were expanded, with a corresponding population surge from approximately 650,000 to nearly 1.8 million.

Though groundwater and deep wells operated to their fullest capacity, city-dwellers went through a serious scarcity of clean water.

The over-exploitation of deep wells also brought about risks of salinization as saline water from Nha Be District and District 7, which remained desolate back then, might intrude on water flow in the city’s heart.

In 1966, a project meant to pump processed water from the Dong Nai River to the city center was carried out and Thu Duc Water Plant was formed.

The new plant meant considerably less dependence on the well system and rendered the second French-built water tower useless and inoperational since.  

During the American War in Vietnam, which came to an end in 1975, Americans erected seven mushroom-shaped water towers over concerns that water pipe pressure was inadequate as the Thu Duc plant was located relatively far from the downtown area, Ly Chung Dan, former Sawaco deputy director, explained.

However, upon the completion of their construction in 1969, the seven towers were never put into use due to technical reasons.

Doomed to destruction

In 2000, Sawaco, which took over the towers after 1975, conducted a quality inspection on the seven U.S.-built water towers while considering restoring them and putting them into use.

The revival was again dropped due to the extensive deterioration the structures have sustained over years of disuse and lack of safety precaution.

The marooned structures, which occupy up to 13,000 m², are a huge waste of money.

Parts of the areas have also been illegally occupied by residents for years.

An imposing water tower on Ho Van Hue Street in Phu Nhuan District which was built around 45 years ago and has been left unused since. Photo: Tuoi Tre

In 2009, Sawaco dispatched units to scrutinize the quality of these concrete works, with the final conclusion suggesting that all such reservoirs are in deteriorating condition, thus exposing city-dwellers to potential perils.

The utility leaders divulged they had mulled tearing down these seven towers, but have procrastinated until now due to high costs and unguaranteed safety.

They recently decided to mobilize outside sources for the removal.

After the demolition, the areas will be converted into underground water reservoirs for supplying water for safety, extinguishing fires, and chloride filling stations to enhance water sources’ quality.

Revered architect Ngo Viet Nam Son said the French-built 130-year-old water tower should be turned into a museum for better preservation.

Though the removal of the seven U.S.-erected towers is plausible, he proposed Sawaco call for bids to put the structures into different uses instead of knocking them down.

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