The contingent valuation method (CVM) has been popularly applied to estimate the economic value of water quality improvements. This approach is based on a hypothetical scenario in which respondents are requested through questionnaires to reveal their maximum willingness to pay (WTP) for water quality improvements. The study used CVM to study the Mekong Delta urban households? motivations and their willingness to pay for the surface water improvement project in the channel located in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The non-parametric estimation technique for the discrete choice valuation format was applied to estimate the mean WTP. The study estimated the mean WTP of approximately VND 267,550 (US$12.67) per household, nearly equal to 1.41 percent of the average annual income of households in the study area while it was approximately VND 207,770 (US$9.84) after adjustment for certainty and VND 310,000 (US$14.68) after protest-vote respondents excluded from the analysis.