Nghe An: People rush to drill wells to fight drought

(Baonghean.vn) - It's only the beginning of April but the heat has already appeared. Many people in the mountainous districts of Anh Son and Con Cuong have rushed to drill wells to get water for daily life and production.

As the hot season is approaching, people are racing to drill wells to prepare for the drought. Photo: Huyen Trang

To have enough water for daily use this summer, Mr. Phan Van Tai's family in village 6, Hoa Son, Anh Son district, has just finished drilling a well for more than 10 million VND. Mr. Tai said: Although the family already has a well, the water source has recently been polluted, and in order to have enough water for daily use and livestock, it is necessary to drill another well.

It was early in the season so hiring workers was not too difficult, they finished drilling in just 3 days. The total cost for drilling the well was 10 million VND, the cost for buying plastic pipes and pumps was another 5 million, so the total cost was more than 15 million VND.

Not only drilling wells for water for daily use, tea growers in Con Cuong district are also looking for well drillers to prevent drought for their tea plants. Ms. Vi Thi Lien in To village, Yen Khe commune, Con Cuong district said: My family used to have more than 6 sao of industrial tea. In 2013, due to prolonged drought, more than half of my family's tea area died, causing tens of millions of dong in damage.

The family of Ms. Vi Thi Lien in To village, Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong) had to hire someone to drill a well right in the tea garden to have water to fight drought for the plants.

Although her family is not well off, in order to protect the remaining tea area, this year Ms. Lien decided to borrow more money to hire workers to drill a well in the garden. With enough water to irrigate the tea garden, Ms. Lien's family will replant and expand the area.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Hoa, the owner of a well drilling facility in Anh Son district, since the beginning of the month he has received 25 well drilling orders for people in Con Cuong and Anh Son districts. To serve the needs of the people, in 2013 he had to invest nearly 1 billion VND to buy 3 drilling rigs and hire 6 professional workers.

At this time, Mr. Nguyen Quang Hoa's well drilling team is working at full capacity to serve the needs of the people. Photo: Huyen Trang

Mr. Hoa added: The peak well drilling season is from April to June, but at this time, the drilling has not been completed in one place before the customer has called to go to another place. This year is also forecasted to be a severe drought, so there will definitely be a lot of work.

Currently, the cost to drill each well is from 10 to 16 million VND. After deducting expenses, Mr. Hoa earns about 100 million VND per month.

Taking care of tea hills with well water. Photo: Huyen Trang

The dry season is starting, so people are rushing to drill wells, which is an urgent need to ensure water for irrigation of crops and domestic water. However, if the widespread drilling of wells is not strictly controlled by the authorities, it will have a significant impact on environmental water resources, especially water resources that are showing signs of decline.

Huyen Trang