Drought in Nghe An: Digging 60m deep still no domestic water

(Baonghean.vn) - The prolonged hot weather has not only affected production, but also caused nearly 2,000 households in the mountainous commune of Nghi Van (Nghi Loc - Nghe An) to suffer a severe shortage of domestic water. Therefore, many households have hired machines to drill wells 60m deep into the ground or had to sell their only cow to have money to drill wells, but water is still scarce.

The workers are digging a well in Nghi Van hamlet 2, drilling more than 40 meters but still have no water.

Under the scorching sun, we went to Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc) - a locality that is facing a serious shortage of domestic water. Like many other households in the commune, due to the prolonged drought, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom's family in hamlet 20 has been facing a shortage of domestic water. To cope with this situation, Ms. Thom's family had to sell a cow - the most valuable asset in the family - to get money to hire workers to drill a well to find a water source.

"My family used to have a well, but for over a month now we have had to go out and beg for water to cook rice. But now the water source in the neighborhood has dried up, so my husband and I have been struggling for a long time and decided to sell our cow to get money to drill a well. To drill the well, we spent over 16 million," said Ms. Thom.

However, many households have spent nearly 20 million VND to dig wells, drilling wells deeper than 60 meters, but still have not a single drop of water to use. Mr. Nguyen Nhu Hai in Hamlet 2 is an example. Mr. Hai said: "My family just dug a 25 meter well but there is no water, so we continue to hire well drillers. Today is the 6th day of drilling. The workers have drilled all day and night, only going 40 meters deep, but there is still not a single drop of water. The drilling is all hard rock. So we are very worried, not knowing if there is water at a depth of 60 meters (?)".

As for Ms. Hoang Thi Ai's family in hamlet 13, they just dug a well 25 meters deep, but the water they collect all day is only enough for cooking, and for daily activities such as bathing and washing, they have to travel more than 1 km to find water to wash.

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Hai's family in Hamlet 2, Nghi Van - Nghi Loc, drilled a well dozens of meters deep but had no water so they had to give up. The cost of drilling the well was 20 million VND.

Currently in Nghi Van commune, the old wells and wells from last year are running out of water. Therefore, nearly 2,000 households, with 9,000 people, are facing water shortages, with no water for daily use, or even water that is not enough for daily use.

Families have to find every way to cope with the water shortage. One temporary solution is to drill new wells, 60 meters deep or more, to find a water source. The average cost for each well is about 17-20 million, depending on the depth and soil quality of each family.

Mr. Ngo Van Tuan, Hamlet 8, Nghi Yen Commune, a veteran well driller, said: “I have drilled in many places but have never seen a place as thirsty as Nghi Van. Drilling down to a depth of 60 meters, we still see rocks. There were days when we were exhausted. Luckily, there was a house about 40 meters away that had water.”

The 40 meter deep well still has no water.

Mr. Cao Cu Dang - Vice Chairman of Nghi Van Commune People's Committee (Nghi Loc) said: "Faced with the drought, the commune has promoted and mobilized people to share with each other and save water. Those with better conditions should share with those in need. The worrying thing is that the water in the dam for buffaloes and cows to drink is also gradually running out."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen - Hamlet 20 shared: "My family is very lucky that we just drilled 38 meters and hit a vein, so we have water to use. Therefore, every day we share that water source with 3 surrounding households and take that as a joy to strengthen the neighborhood relationship."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom (village 20) had to sell her only cow to drill a well but still had no water. Every day she had to go out to beg for water for daily use.

The drought is severe, water resources are increasingly scarce. Therefore, the hope of a stable source of clean water from a large dam or clean water plant to the highland communes of Nghi Loc, including Nghi Van commune, is something that people have been longing for for many years.

The rocks were taken from a depth of 50 m by the well drilling team.

Thu Hien