Drought in Nghe An: Even digging 60 meters deep still doesn't yield clean water.

(Baonghean.vn) - The prolonged hot weather has not only affected production but also caused a severe shortage of clean water for nearly 2,000 households in Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province), a mountainous area. Therefore, many households have hired drillers to bore wells up to 60 meters deep or even sold their only cow to fund the drilling, but water remains scarce.

A team of workers is digging a well in Hamlet 2, Nghi Van, drilling over 40 meters but still without water.

Under the scorching sun, we arrived in Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc district) – a locality facing a severe shortage of clean water. Like many other households in the commune, the prolonged drought has left Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom's family in Hamlet 20 without enough water. To cope with this situation, Ms. Thom's family had to sell their most valuable asset – a cow – to hire workers to drill a well and find a water source.

"My family used to have a well, but for over a month now we've had to beg for water to cook rice. But now the water source in the village has dried up, so my husband and I have been struggling with this and finally decided to sell our cows to get money to drill a new well. We spent over 16 million VND on drilling the well," said Ms. Thom.

However, many households have spent nearly 20 million VND digging wells, drilling wells deeper than 60 meters, but still haven't found a single drop of water. Mr. Nguyen Nhu Hai from Hamlet 2 is an example. Mr. Hai said: "My family just dug a well 25 meters deep but there's no water, so we hired more well drillers. Today is the sixth day of drilling, and the drillers have worked day and night to get only 40 meters deep, but still haven't found a single drop of water. They've only drilled through hard rock. So we're very worried about whether there will be water at a depth of 60 meters."

As for the family of Ms. Hoang Thi Ai in Hamlet 13, they recently dug a well 25 meters deep, but even after drawing water all day, they only have enough for cooking. For other daily activities like bathing and washing clothes, they have to travel more than 1 km to find water.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Nhu Hai, from Hamlet 2, Nghi Van - Nghi Loc, drilled a well dozens of meters deep but found no water and had to abandon the project. The cost of drilling the well was 20 million VND.

Currently, in Nghi Van commune, the old drilled and dug wells from last year are running out of water. As a result, nearly 2,000 households, with 9,000 people, are facing water shortages; there is no water for daily use, or if there is, it is unreliable and insufficient.

Families are having to find various ways to cope with the water shortage. One temporary solution is for families to drill new wells, at least 60 meters deep, to find a water source. On average, the cost of each well is around 17-20 million VND, depending on the depth and soil type of each family.

Mr. Ngo Van Tuan from Hamlet 8, Nghi Yen Commune, a seasoned well driller, said: "I've drilled wells in many places, but nowhere has been as water-scarce as Nghi Van. We drilled down to a depth of 60 meters and still only found rock. Some days, my colleagues and I were completely exhausted. Luckily, we found water in some houses about 40 meters deep."

The well, dug to a depth of 40 meters, still has no water.

Mr. Cao Cu Dang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc district), said: "Given the drought situation, the commune has been campaigning and encouraging people to share and conserve water. Those who are better off share with those in need. The worrying thing is that the water in the reservoirs used for cattle drinking is also running low."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen from Hamlet 20 shared: "My family was very lucky to hit a water source just 38 meters after drilling, so we have water to use. Therefore, every day we share that water with 3 neighboring households and take joy in it, strengthening our neighborly bonds."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom (Hamlet 20) had to sell her only cow to drill a well, but there was still no water. Every day she has to go and beg for water for daily use.

With the drought intensifying, water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Therefore, the hope for a stable supply of clean water from a large reservoir or water treatment plant to the highland communes of Nghi Loc, including Nghi Van commune, has been something the people have longed for for many years.

These rocks were extracted from a depth of 50 meters by the well drilling team.

Thu Hien