Many residential areas lack clean water.

(Baonghean) -Although Vinh City has been recognized as a first-class urban area for 5 years, the tap water supply system has not been completed or synchronized, leading to some areas where people do not have access to clean water or have to pay higher prices than the general level, even double.

"Thirst" in the heart of the city

Mr. Nguyen Trong Sang's family just bought land to build a house in Hamlet 23, Nghi Phu Commune a few years ago. Because the hamlet is near the cemetery, the family does not dare to use well water, so every day they have to ask for water from some relatives living far away to use. Next to Mr. Sang's family's hamlet, Mr. Dau Tien Thanh in Hamlet 22, every day goes to work with a 20-liter plastic can carrying tap water from an acquaintance's house in Cua Nam Ward. He said that his family has both a well and a drilled well, but because the house is close to the rice field, when it rains, the water from the well is cloudy and has a fishy taste, so he does not dare to use it for drinking. As for the water taken from the drilled well, when boiled for a few days, a layer of black residue forms around the pot's edge. When he puts it in a thermos, he sees layers of black residue on the bottom, so he does not dare to use it. In 2012, when the hamlet called for donations to build a pipeline to bring tap water back, he was happy because he would soon be able to use clean water, but he has waited a long time, and so far he has not seen anything.

Vinh City residents still do not have access to clean water.

The hamlets in the east of Xo Viet - Nghe Tinh Street (Nghi Phu) do not have clean water to use. Mr. Tran Ngoc Chi - Chairman of Nghi Phu Commune People's Committee admitted that there are still some hamlets in the commune that do not have clean water to use. To proactively promote the provision of clean water to these households, Nghi Phu Commune People's Committee has recently allocated the budget along with the people's contributions with a total cost of 15 billion VND to invest in installing a level 3 pipeline system and currently, the hamlets are also mobilizing people to contribute to install a level 4 pipeline system to each household.

Similarly, in Hung Loc commune, we learned that the commune has also invested 6 billion VND to install a level 3 pipeline system to supply water to the remaining 3 hamlets that do not have clean water, but people have not yet used it. The current problem with clean water in these 2 communes is that the level 1 and level 2 pipeline systems (part of the investment of Nghe An Water Supply One Member Co., Ltd.) have not been installed.

In addition, most households in communes merged into the city such as Nghi Lien, Nghi Duc, Nghi An, Hung Chinh do not have access to tap water. Most people in these communes are using underground water, rainwater, and unsanitary well water. Even in Hung Chinh commune, although it is located at the starting point of the clean water supply to the city, only about 50% of households in 4/8 hamlets use clean water. Among the 50% of households in those 4 hamlets, the water supply is also very weak, especially in the summer when it is sometimes available and sometimes not.

Buy water at "high prices"

In some areas, households do not have access to clean water, and in some areas, people have to pay higher prices for water than the general level. In blocks 1, 2, Chau Hung, Yen Giang (formerly belonging to Hung Thinh - Hung Nguyen), before being merged into Vinh Tan ward (Vinh City), people contributed to build pipelines from Vinh Hung Water Plant to each household. After that, this clean water system was transferred to Hung Thinh Agricultural Cooperative to manage and act as an intermediary to buy water from the plant to sell to people. Mr. Tran Thanh Quang in Chau Hung block said: “Each road has a main meter, the cooperative sells water to people through that main meter; if any road has a broken pipe and a lot of water is lost, the whole road must pay for the lost water, leading to the fact that although the selling price is 6,600 VND/m3, households have to buy at a higher price, from 7,300 - more than 8,000 VND/m3, in some cases, they have to pay 14,000 VND/m3”. Secretary of the Chau Hung block, Tran Xuan Dan, was indignant: “In the block, there are families with only 4-6 people but have to pay hundreds of thousands of dong per month, of which about 10% of households pay 350,000 dong per month for water, and in particular, Ms. Tran Thi Hoa's family has a monthly payment of up to 500,000 dong. The people themselves invested in the pipeline, the cooperative manages and collects money, but the people have to bear the loss. Therefore, we hope that the water plant will sell water directly to households to end the current situation of people having to buy "high-priced" domestic water.”

In some hamlets in Nghi Kim commune, people are also in the same situation of "eating" high water prices. According to the people, in supplying water to the people, Nghe An Water Supply Company Limited only contracts to sell water at the main meter at the price of 7,700 VND/m3. During the water supply process, Nghe An Water Supply Company Limited is not responsible for the loss of clean water due to the quality of equipment, connection techniques and other costs. For the above reasons, people in some hamlets in the commune's center have to pay clean water fees ranging from 9,000 - 18,000 VND/m3. Ms. Le Thi Nga in hamlet 4, was upset: "The water price is high, so even though we are very frugal, we still spend more than 100,000 VND on water every month. We request the water plant to sell water directly to us."

Discussing issues related to domestic water, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cat - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Council, admitted: The problem that people in some communes and wards have not been able to use clean water and are having to buy water at high prices is real. The Standing Committee of the City People's Council has also recorded the opinions of voters and summarized and recommended to the City People's Committee to resolve it. However, in recent times, due to economic downturn, the city's revenue has been difficult, so the installation of clean water supply systems for people in areas without clean water; the renovation and upgrading of places where the system is degraded and causes water loss has not been carried out. However, frankly speaking, the provision of clean water to people in areas without clean water still depends on Nghe An Water Supply One Member Co., Ltd. For example, in the past, in some localities, a level 3 pipeline system has been built, but Nghe An Water Supply One Member Co., Ltd. has not yet invested in building a level 1 and level 2 pipeline system, so people still do not have water to use.

The goal of the 22nd City Party Congress is that by 2015, 95% of the city's population will have access to clean water; Vinh City People's Committee has also developed a project to build a clean water supply system with a total cost of 331.5 billion VND. Currently, in the general difficult conditions, to achieve the goals set by the congress and the project, Vinh City People's Committee, Nghe An Water Supply One Member Co., Ltd., commune authorities and people need to join hands and combine forces, considering this as the number 1 priority area to promote early implementation. Regarding high water prices, to solve this situation, it is necessary to strengthen the management of intermediary units selling water to people, at the same time better manage the water supply system, limit losses and try to sell water directly to 100% of households in the whole city.

Article and photos:Plum Blossom