Chau Hanh (Quy Chau): People are having to use water contaminated with lime.
(Baonghean) - Mr. Tran Nguyen Hong, Hanh Tien village, his family has 3 members. Around his house there are 3 water tanks...
(Baonghean) - Mr. Tran Nguyen Hong, Hanh Tien village, his family has 3 members. Around his house there are 3 water tanks to store rainwater, totaling about 10m3But his house does not always have water for daily use. Mr. Hong said: “My house also has a well, but the water is contaminated with lime so it is not used for drinking. My family saved money to build several tanks so that when it rains, we can collect water for drinking only.”
Mr. Nguyen Huy Cuong's family often has to ask neighbors for water to cook. The family is poor, has no money to build a water tank, and the well is more than 50 meters deep but still has no water, so every day his family has to use river water for daily activities.
Due to high construction costs, not every household can afford to build a tank. On average, the cost to build a tank is about 15 - 20 million VND. A small water tank is only a few cubic meters, but if there are many people in the house, the water tank must be large to meet the demand. Currently, only over 30% of the households in the village have water tanks. Most of these households have to borrow money from banks or friends to build tanks.
Many households do not have water tanks so they have to use well water.
Hanh Tien village has 114 households with nearly 500 people. All are "thirsty" for clean water. Those households with the means can build rainwater tanks, the rest have to "close their eyes" and use lime-contaminated well water. According to the people, since about 1983, they have had to dig deep wells to have water. But when they use it (after boiling), a layer of white residue settles at the bottom of the cup. When they use well water to wash clothes, the clothes tear quickly and use more soap. Knowing that the water is polluted, people switched to using river water. But after a while, the river water continued to be polluted. The reason is that when gold mining companies pan for gold, they directly discharge substances such as oil and mercury into the river. Fish and shrimp also began to die, and people were afraid to use river water anymore.
Due to the use of polluted water sources, the rate of people infected with diseases in the village is increasing. Recently, the rate of people in the village suffering from digestive diseases is increasing. The most common diseases are kidney stones, bladder stones, enteritis, hepatitis... We have reported many times to the higher authorities but have not received any information yet," Mr. Hong worriedly said.
Mr. Sam Van Thiet - Chairman of Chau Hanh Commune People's Committee said: The problem of Hanh Tien villagers lacking clean water for daily life, at the council meetings, the commune also reflected this problem to the district. However, the district has not yet had any solution. Because if we build a water plant now and pump water from Hieu River to filter, it is not feasible because the number of households here is not much, and if we upgrade the water plant in Tan Lac Town and then draw water back, it will cost a lot of money, and the district's budget is limited. The solution of investing in building a self-flowing water project is also not possible, because there is no source of stream around this area, there is a stream 10km away but the water does not have enough force to flow to the village".
Not only do people in Hanh Tien village lack clean water for daily life, they also have difficulty in irrigating their daily production. Most of the households here cannot grow vegetables in their gardens. If they do grow them, they will die due to lack of water. Every year, people here lack water for an average of 4-6 months.
Pham Bang
