Many highland communes lack access to clean water.

(Baonghean) - For the past few months, many highland communes have experienced no rain. Streams, lakes, and wells are gradually drying up. The risk of water shortage is threatening the lives of the people here.

After traveling over 20km through the forest under the scorching sun exceeding 41°C, we arrived in Don Phuc - Con Cuong. Along the way, we met the people of Don Phuc fetching water for daily use. They have to go all the way to the Lam River to get clean water for drinking and cooking. Don Phuc is a particularly disadvantaged mountainous commune, with 894 households and 3,989 inhabitants, nearly 100% of whom are ethnic Thai people. Of Don Phuc's 7 villages, 6 are currently at risk of water shortages.

Mr. Vi Van Duc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, said: Currently, in Hop Thanh, Tong To, Tong Tien, Hong Thang, Hong Dien, and Xieng villages, people have to go to the streams to dig wells right at the edge of the streams to get water for drinking and cooking. Every 2-3 households share a well, 3-4 meters deep, right at the mouth of the stream, but many places still lack water. Even the Phen stream, which has never dried up for decades, has started to dry up this year due to the prolonged heat and lack of rain.

The people of Don Phuc commune share every bucket of well water among themselves.

We arrived at Hamlet 1 of Phuc village. Of the 28 households, only 4 wells still had water, forcing the villagers to share one or two buckets each for drinking and cooking. The Phai Loong dam, which supplied water to the fields of Phuc and Xieng villages, was now completely dry. The summer-autumn planting season was almost over, but the fields were dry and cracked, with no water for sowing. Even the hillsides and alluvial plains along the streams lacked water for cultivation. If seeds were sown, they wouldn't germinate and would wither and die.

The people of Phuc village (Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district) get their water for daily use from Khe Phen stream.

Leaving Phuc village, we went to Tong To and Tong Tien villages, considered the drought-stricken peak of Don Phuc. In Tong To village, we met the village head, Mr. Vi Hong Dung. Mr. Dung said that the villagers' wells had dried up. Previously, the villagers bought pipes to bring water from the mountains for daily use, but now that the mountain streams have dried up, they have to go down to the Phen stream to fetch water. If this hot weather continues, the Phen stream will dry up, and they don't know where they will get water for drinking, let alone bathing and washing. The situation in Tong Tien village was no better; most of the villagers' wells had dried up. The risk of a water shortage is threatening the people here. To escape the heat, the people of Don Phuc have no choice but to travel nearly 20 km to the Lam River to bathe.

People in Tho Son commune (Anh Son district) go to fetch water from streams.

In recent days, the prolonged drought has caused severe water shortages for many families in Tho Son, Cam Son, and Dinh Son communes in Anh Son district. For weeks now, Ms. Vi Thi Hien's family in Khe Trang Thuong village, Tho Son commune, has had to carry water in cans from streams for daily use. Ms. Hien said: "Although there is a clean water project in the village, it has long been unusable, partly due to damage and partly because the water source from the mountains has dried up. People who want water have to carry each other to the streams to fetch it. However, the water from the streams is also becoming increasingly scarce."

Ms. Vi Thi Hien from Khe Trang Thuong village (Tho Son commune) fetches water for her family's use.

Like Ms. Hien's family, many households have been struggling to cope with the scorching summer heat in recent days. The shortage of clean water has been a problem in Tho Son commune for many years, but this year is the most severe. Wells and streams have dried up, and many families are considering drilling or digging new, deeper wells to secure a long-term water supply.

Mr. Vi Van Thang from Khe Trang Thuong village sighed: “In previous years at this time, many households still had plenty of water for daily use, but this year, even at the beginning of the season, the wells have already dried up. If this situation continues, people's lives will face many risks. The prolonged drought has caused groundwater levels to decrease. The natural water flow system is no longer sufficient to supply the people in Tho Son commune.”

Ms. Duong Thi Hue, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of the commune, said: The gravity-fed water system was invested in and built by the Anh Son District People's Committee in 2002. According to the initial design, the clean water project, managed by the local authorities, was supposed to supply water to 500 households in the area. However, in reality, the water only supplies 200 households because the clean water source for the system is taken from a stream and depends on rainwater. For the past two years, this water system has been abandoned. Ms. Hue also added: The commune is looking for solutions to find a water source for the people. However, to build or install clean water systems, the local authorities still need to survey and find sources for investment. Therefore, for the time being, they are still encouraging people to find their own water sources for daily use.

Phung Van Mui - Huyen Trang