Who is responsible?

(Baonghean) - The clean water project in Ngoc Son commune (Thanh Chuong district) was started in 2007, funded by the National Target Program for Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation. The total project cost 1.3 billion VND, of which 960 million VND was for construction, following the principle of "the State and the people working together." The State invested 60% of the total construction value, with over 600 million VND used to build and complete the main components, including the water station, pumps, filters, storage tanks, and the main and branch pipelines leading to the hamlets.

Regarding the public's capital contribution, it was impossible to implement, and since then, this project, worth over half a billion dong, has been abandoned and deteriorating over time. Currently, the pumping station building has been used twice as a warehouse for the District Traffic Management Unit to store embankment construction materials and for the Lam Son Cooperative to store cement.

Through our investigation, we learned that Ngoc Son commune is located in a low-lying area. Every year in July and August, water from the Gang River flows in, causing flooding that affects almost the entire commune and polluting the water source. In particular, in hamlets 3, 4, and 5, the drinking water for most households, mainly from open wells, is salty and brackish, making it very difficult to drink. Based on this reality, the commune government proactively proposed investment in a clean water project. Subsequently, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development conducted a survey to invest in a clean water project, in line with the policy of establishing a pilot area for industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas.



The clean water project in Ngoc Son commune has been under construction for six years but has never been put into operation.

Before implementing the project, the commune held a meeting to gather public opinion and organized a registration process for residents to use clean water. At that time, approximately 170 households in hamlets 3, 4, and 5 registered to use water from the clean water project. On average, each household contributed 1.5 million VND to complete the clean water project. However, due to slow construction, some families with better financial conditions drilled their own wells for independent use, while those facing greater financial difficulties considered 1.5 million VND too much. This is why the project, costing over half a billion VND, has not received further investment and remains abandoned to this day.

Explaining the unfinished project, a commune official admitted that due to a lack of experience in managing the project and a failure to anticipate the difficulties faced by farmers at the time, who had to contribute 1.5-2 million VND for construction and monthly operating costs, the project was unaffordable, especially since the issue of clean water for daily use was not yet a pressing concern. Therefore, while initially many households registered (170), the number gradually decreased to around fifty, making it difficult to secure the necessary funding for the portion contributed by the residents.

According to this official, to avoid wasting resources on the project, the commune recently integrated it into the new rural development program, planning to invest an additional 600 million VND from the commune's budget, state funds, and beneficiaries. The project is scheduled to be implemented in 2014 and includes the installation of an additional main pump to draw water from the Lam River to the reservoir; several smaller lines connecting to residential areas; pipelines to households; and water meters. The question is whether the commune's plans and projects are feasible. In discussions with some residents in Hamlet 5 – considered to have the worst quality drinking water in Ngoc Son commune – we found that the residents are no longer very enthusiastic about this clean water project.

It is suggested that the Ngoc Son commune authorities should study and propose the best solution for the second phase of the clean water project to ensure economic efficiency and avoid further waste. The Ngoc Son commune authorities need to educate the public about the benefits of using safe and hygienic water; the people themselves also need to raise awareness that as living standards improve, they should focus on improving their quality of life, including access to clean water. The commune also needs to conduct a review to determine who is responsible for the unfinished clean water project.

Mai Hoa