Flooded people hope for more investment in clean water plants

(Baonghean) - After the flood, clean water is an urgent problem for people in Hoang Mai town and Quynh Luu district. The capacity of clean water plants is not enough to meet the demand, people still have to use well water contaminated with alum and salt for daily activities.

Although the flood has been over for half a month, the difficulty in clean water sources has disrupted the lives of many people in Hoang Mai Town. For more than 2 weeks now, Ms. Le Thi Hoa's family in Quynh Thien Ward has had to buy water for use. However, it is not tap water but well water from households in Mai Hung Ward. Ms. Hoa said: Before the flood, my family used well water and a rainwater tank for drinking. But the flood water flooded everything, now the water is yellow and cannot be used for drinking. After the flood, the Ward Health Station distributed Cloramin B to treat the water, but my family only dared to use it for bathing and washing, and we had to buy water for drinking, each 5-cubic meter truck costs 120,000 VND. Since the flood, the 5 people in the family have used up more than 4 cubic meters of water.

Present at Quynh Thien Kindergarten right when the water truck was selling to the school, Ms. Pham Thi Luong - the school's principal said: This is the third water truck since the water receded. The school has a water tank but it is underground so the water is very dirty and cannot be used. After treatment, the water has a very strong and unpleasant smell so we only use it for washing. To ensure clean water for the students, we decided to buy clean water from elsewhere. Currently, the whole school has more than 500 students of all ages, the need for clean water is quite large.

The water source at Quynh Thien Ward Kindergarten is still turbid and dirty.

After the recent flood, all the wells and rainwater tanks of the people in the communes and wards in Hoang Mai town were flooded, mud flowed into the water tanks and wells so people could not use it. Quynh Thien ward has 10 blocks, of which 5 blocks along National Highway 1A do not have water wells. People have to buy well water every day in Mai Hung ward and Quynh Loc commune for use. Mr. Phan Duc Diem - Vice Chairman of the ward People's Committee said: After the flood, the water source was heavily contaminated with alum and salt, although it was treated with medicine, it was only a temporary measure, and in the long term it could not be solved. Therefore, the people's wish is to soon build a clean water plant for people to use, ensuring hygiene and health.

Although environmental and water treatment work was carried out simultaneously in flooded areas as soon as the water receded, the treatment work was very difficult due to the large area of ​​flooding and the severe environmental pollution. In the face of serious environmental pollution and the risk of disease outbreaks, Nghe An Health Department promptly provided Hoang Mai Town with 160kg of Cloramin B, 350kg of lime chloride and 10kg of alum. Quynh Thien Ward was provided with 7.5kg of Cloramin B to treat well water and rainwater in tanks for people to use. However, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Duc, an officer at the ward's health station, that amount of medicine is still not enough and about 20% of households are lacking medicine to treat water.

Currently, in Hoang Mai Town, there is only one clean water plant in Quynh Xuan Ward. The plant was started in 2005, after 3 upgrades, the current capacity of the plant is 75 m3/hour. According to the design, the plant only meets the needs of about 650 households, but so far, more than 2,000 households, accounting for 82% of Quynh Xuan Ward, have used it. During the recent flood, some water pipes were eroded and damaged. To ensure adequate water supply for the people, the plant staff immediately repaired and fixed it. So far, people have clean water to use. Mr. Vu Van Tu, Vice Chairman of Quynh Xuan Ward People's Committee, said: The commune has proposed to expand the reservoir but it has not been approved by the Provincial People's Committee. In winter, we are worried about water shortages because the water plant "takes" water from Vuc Mau Lake. But in winter, Vu Mau Lake does not discharge water because people do not produce agriculture.

In recent years, most people in Hoang Mai town have had to use underground water and rainwater for daily activities. However, people in Quynh Vinh and Quynh Thien wards do not dare to use rainwater because they are close to Hoang Mai Cement Factory. Mr. Pham Van Hao - Deputy Head of the town's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said: Hoang Mai town has just been established, so the biggest difficulty at this time is the source of clean water for people to use. Therefore, the task of building a clean water plant is an important task that the town is trying to carry out in 2013. Currently, the project to build a clean water plant with a capacity of about 32,000m3/hour is being prepared. However, the location of the plant in Mai Hung ward is 2-rice land, so the town is preparing a dossier to submit to the Prime Minister for approval.

In Quynh Luu district, although there are many clean water plants, people in many communes still have to use rainwater and well water. During the recent flood, although there was no impact or damage to the clean water plants, due to low capacity, they could not meet the needs of the people. Mr. Ho Xuan Xuyen, Vice Chairman of Quynh Thanh Commune People's Committee, said: Most people currently do not have clean water to use. Currently, the capacity of the plant is only about 30m3/hour, enough to supply only about 500 households. Meanwhile, the whole commune has nearly 2,000 households, so it is not enough.

Many other coastal communes such as Quynh Thuan, Quynh Long, Son Hai, Quynh Nghia, Tien Thuy... all depend on rainwater and underground water sources for use. In Quynh Luu district, there is also Cau Giat Water Plant with a capacity of 3,000 m3/day and night, regularly serving 3 localities including Cau Giat Town, Quynh Hong, Quynh Ba and some neighboring communes. Quynh Luu district is planning to increase the plant's capacity to 10,000 m3/day and night, but due to financial difficulties, the plan has not been implemented. Meanwhile, the loss rate is high due to the management and operation of the water supply connection system being confused and unprofessional. Therefore, the urgent issue now is to upgrade and expand clean water plants in Cau Giat, Quynh Thanh, Quynh Yen, which needs attention from all levels and sectors.

Pham Bang