The village is "thirsty"...

(Baonghean) - Located just over 4 km from the center of Vinh City, 398 households with 1,650 people in the three hamlets of Duc Vinh, Duc Thinh, and Duc Tho (Hung Loc commune) still do not have access to piped water. Visiting the area in the early days of the new year, the residents expressed their plea: "Please, the press, speak to the authorities on our behalf. We have been thirsty for clean water for a very long time..."

XDuc Vinh hamlet has 118 households and 487 inhabitants. Previously, the people mainly lived by farming. When Hung Loc commune became home to many vocational schools, such as Nghe An Pedagogical College, the University of Electricity, and the Petroleum Vocational College, the households in Duc Vinh hamlet quickly opened student dormitories. Therefore, the hamlet's population is now approximately 1,000 people. However, due to the lack of piped water, for many years the people in Duc Vinh hamlet have had to use groundwater. Furthermore, the hamlet is located near two cemeteries, so the groundwater in this area is seriously polluted.

The groundwater is not hygienically safe, but the residents of Duc Vinh hamlet still have to use it.

Mr. Duong Xuan Mao (Duc Vinh hamlet) expressed his frustration: "Every time the voters of Duc Vinh hamlet meet, they raise the issue of clean water. Each time, the representatives promise to petition the authorities to resolve the problem, but the water supply company still hasn't installed the pipeline to bring water here. And Duc Vinh hamlet isn't even far away; it's right next to Highway 535 (Le Viet Thuat Street)...". Ms. Tran Thi Hong Ngoc, a final-year student in the Early Childhood Education Department at Nghe An College of Education, said that when she moved to Duc Vinh hamlet, she didn't dare use well water for cooking because she saw many polluted areas and stagnant ponds that were only used for washing clothes. Recently, buying filtered water for cooking has become too expensive, so she has to use it, even though she's very worried about her health...".

Duc Tho hamlet is not far from Duc Vinh hamlet, but according to Mr. Nguyen Van Lai, the hamlet head, the water pollution is much more severe because it is heavily affected by wastewater from Military Hospital 4, vocational schools, and the city cemetery. Mr. Lai said: "We are at the end of the water supply; wastewater from these places flows through the common drainage system, overflowing into the fields and seeping into the residential area, causing both unsanitary conditions and groundwater pollution. Meanwhile, 190 households, 728 people in Duc Tho hamlet, not to mention over 300 students temporarily residing there, all use well water for daily life, so everyone is worried about the impact on their health." Further confirming the groundwater pollution, Mr. Lai added: "In My Trung hamlet (Hung Loc), Ms. Dinh Thi Ha - the head of the Quyet Thang Cooperative - has a water testing machine. Several people have asked Ms. Ha to test the quality of their well water, and all the results showed that the water is contaminated..." Due to problems with groundwater quality, many households in Duc Tho hamlet have purchased water storage tanks placed at a higher elevation, pumping water up for sedimentation and filtration.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tien, residing in Duc Tho hamlet, uses filtered water from an ion water purifier.

In Hung Loc, alongside Duc Vinh and Duc Tho, Duc Thinh hamlet also faces the same problem of lacking clean water for daily use. The head of Duc Thinh hamlet, Mr. Uong Dinh Chung, expressed his frustration: "People often say that farmers in remote areas have a clean environment, but the people of Duc Thinh suffer terribly, especially when it comes to drinking water. We have taken samples of water from dug and drilled wells for testing, and the results show that the water is not safe. Many families have bought water filters, but they are not very reassured because after a short time, the filter cartridges turn yellow or black..."

Due to the urgent need of the people for clean water for daily use, since 2010, the People's Council of Hung Loc commune has issued Resolution No. 04 on the basic construction plan. The commune government has invested 5.6 billion VND from the commune's budget to install a tertiary water supply pipeline to the homes of residents. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, an urban planning official of Hung Loc commune, the tertiary pipeline, which the commune invested in, has been installed for nearly two years. Since then, the commune has repeatedly petitioned the city and sent written requests to the Water Supply Company to install primary and secondary pipelines to bring tap water to the people for connection and use, but without success.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Ha, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, in 2010, five hamlets – Mau Lam, Hoa Tien, Duc Vinh, Duc Tho, and Duc Thinh – did not have access to piped water. After the commune completed the third-level water supply pipeline, two hamlets, Mau Lam and Hoa Tien, now have access to piped water. The remaining three hamlets are still without water because the Water Supply Company has not yet installed the primary and secondary water supply pipelines. Mr. Nguyen Van Ha said: "At the time of installing the tertiary pipeline, we repeatedly sent written requests to the Water Supply Company to provide materials and labor for installation. The commune government and the people would organize land clearance and pipeline excavation. In 2013, the Water Supply Company requested the commune to allocate 300-400 square meters of land to build a booster station. The commune, together with the company, surveyed and selected a location for the station. Afterwards, we continued to request that while the land procedures and station construction were underway, they allow the construction of the pipeline to bring tap water to the people as soon as possible, but this was not implemented in 2013. Going forward, we will continue working with the Water Supply Company to try to complete it within the first six months of this year..."

Further investigation reveals that the issue of piped water supply is just as urgent for the residents of the three hamlets of Duc Vinh, Duc Thinh, and Duc Tho in Nghe An Province, including the Nghe An College of Education, the University of Electricity, and the College of Petroleum. Therefore, the number of people needing piped water reaches several thousand. It is understandable that the demand for piped water from households in Hung Loc commune, given the increasing pollution of groundwater, is entirely justified. The Nghe An Water Supply Company Limited should promptly coordinate with the Hung Loc commune authorities to install primary and secondary water supply pipelines to bring piped water to this area.

Nhat Lan