The village has hundreds of households that have to use canal water.

(Baonghean.vn) - It's a true story that hundreds of households in a delta village have to use ditch water for drinking, living in fear every day as dozens of people have died from incurable diseases.

The whole neighborhood drinks ditch water.

Mr. Tran Khac Kien, the village chief of Ngoc Ha village (Cong Thanh, Yen Thanh) received us with a sigh: "The ditch leading from Do Luong bara flowing through the village is both an agricultural irrigation water source and a source of water for eating, drinking and daily activities for 117 households in the village. Many times, at the upstream, buffaloes pass by, drowning, and animal carcasses float, but at the downstream, not knowing, they still scoop water home to wait for it to settle to cook."

Part of the irrigation canal system passing through Ngoc Ha hamlet (Cong Thanh, Yen Thanh). Photo: Thanh Quynh.

Having said that, he led us to the village ditch. It was not yet the dry season but the water in the ditch was quite shallow, the current was weak, murky and had a slightly fishy smell.

Observations show that most of the ditch area is located close to the rice fields of the people without any separation. Meanwhile, the spraying of pesticides, herbicides... is still carried out regularly during each rice crop. Spraying tools are also washed here.

At the beginning of the canal, about 20 meters from the rice field, the villagers built a small cement tank to settle the water. From this small tank, a pipe was installed to lead the canal water to the settling pond. From the pond, the villagers continued to install small pipes to lead the water to their houses.

At the beginning of the canal, people installed an underground pipe system that flows to the settling pond. Photo: Thanh Quynh.

However, when the dry season comes, Do Luong bara stops supplying water and the ditch also dries up.

Due to lack of water, people have drilled wells. Unfortunately, dozens of wells here cannot be used because the water source is contaminated with alum, has scum, is very sour and salty.

The last resort is to build a water tank. However, this amount of rainwater is only enough for eating and drinking, not enough to serve other living needs. "Not every family has enough money to build a big tank, all expenses depend on a few fields. The total rate of poor and near-poor households in the whole village is up to 25%, the highest in the commune," Mr. Kien said sadly.

From the settling pond, water is led to the households' tanks. Photo: Thanh Quynh

According to the villagers, since the village was established, the canal water flowing through the village has been the main source of water for production and daily life. In the past, the water source was very clear, cool and clean. Only in the last ten years has the water gradually dried up and become unsanitary.

When people fear...hospitals

Mr. Tran Khac Ngan, a former military doctor, has been retired for nearly 6 years but still has to work as an "unwilling" doctor for the children in the neighborhood every day. He said that every month, nearly ten children come to see him because of digestive problems, upper respiratory infections, and skin diseases.

He added: "In just the past 5 or 6 years, more than 10 people have died from cancer. Most of them died young, including Luong Thi Tam, who just turned 21 a few months ago... In the neighborhood, there are still 4 young people who are hospitalized for cancer treatment. People believe that water pollution is the main cause of this disease."

Ms. Dang Thi Truong (born in 1973) is currently being treated for uterine cancer. The family's water source is taken from the village pond and settled through a small sand tank. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Following Mr. Ngan's instructions, we went to the house of Ms. Dang Thi Truong, who is currently being treated for uterine cancer.

She said that her health had declined significantly over the past four years. Before, she was only able to do the farming work, but now she can’t even do the housework. At the beginning of this year, she decided to go for a check-up and discovered she had cancer.

She said that in the village now many people are sick but do not dare to go to the hospital because they are afraid of getting cancer. So they accept to live peacefully as long as they can...

What do local authorities say?

Working with Cong Thanh commune, Mr. Ho Phi Hoe, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: "Cong Thanh is one of the localities with the most serious lack of clean water in Yen Thanh district. Currently, all 22 hamlets of the commune have to use unsanitary water sources. The system of drilled wells and dug wells is also very difficult to use due to alum contamination. Especially in hamlets such as Ngoc Ha, Dong Hien, Nga Tu... the situation is even more severe.

Faced with the above situation, the commune has developed a plan to submit to the District People's Committee to build a water plant to provide clean water for people in the commune and neighboring areas. However, the problem cannot be solved in a day or two because the funding source is quite limited.

Therefore, the local government is currently instructing people on how to filter and filter water properly. It is strictly forbidden to wash spraying equipment at the source of water and regularly clear and clean the flow of water supply canals and ditches. However, this is only a temporary measure and has not improved the current situation much."

People mainly filter water through sand and gravel before use. Photo: Thanh Quynh.

According to Mr. Phan Duy Thanh - Director of the Town Water Plant (under the People's Committee of Yen Thanh District), if raw water is only filtered through materials such as sand and gravel without sedimentation and disinfection, the water still contains many impurities that are dangerous to the health of users. In particular, it is even more dangerous when more and more production facilities discharge waste directly into the environment or people handle the chemical spraying process for crops incorrectly, causing them to mix into underground water sources or adjacent canals and ditches.

This year’s summer is approaching and is predicted to be hotter than previous years, the people of Ngoc Ha hamlet as well as many other localities are starting to worry about water shortages. Hopefully, in the near future, the authorities will soon join hands with the people so that this worry will no longer exist.

Thanh Quynh