Quang Tien Ward - Thai Hoa Town: Lack of clean water

(Baonghean) -In many blocks of Quang Tien ward (Thai Hoa), every dry season, people's wells dry up, they have to save every drop of water, bathing and washing depends entirely on the water source of Hieu river. This situation has been going on for many years.

Every night, Pham Bich Hoa and her husband in Lam Son block take their children to Hieu river to bathe and wash. The family's well water is only enough for cooking and partly for their two young children. Hoa said: Luckily, it has rained for the past few days so the well has a little water to use, but after pumping almost full a 200-liter barrel, it runs out. On other days, the family has to ask neighbors for water for cooking. The couple's bathing and washing depends on river water. When they have free time, they take a buffalo cart to the river to fetch water for use.

Ms. Pham Bich Hoa collects water for storage for daily use.

Pham Duc Quang's family depends entirely on river water for all their activities. Every day, Quang has to drive a buffalo cart to the river four times to carry water, each time he gets a 200-liter barrel. The family uses the river water for bathing and washing. Quang shared: "The family dug a well hoping to have water to use, but wherever we dug, we encountered rocks. We dug three times but each time there was no water, costing more than ten million VND. Because the two children are still young and cannot go to the river to bathe, we have to carry water from the river for the children to use."

Mr. Pham Duc Vien, Head of Lam Son Block, confided: The whole block has 97 households, 97% of which are Tho ethnic people. Of these, only 15 households currently have clean water to use, the rest have to use well water and river water. Lack of water not only affects people's lives but also affects production. "Now, if you want to plant anything in the garden or raise pigs, it is not effective. We don't know where to get water to water the plants or bathe the pigs. People here are having a hard time," Mr. Vien confided.

The Lam Son residents have been experiencing water shortages for many years. Especially during the dry season from April to July, the water shortage becomes more serious. Residents have sent petitions to local authorities about their difficulties and hope that Thai Hoa Water Supply Company Limited will create conditions for them to use clean water. Some households with the means have drilled wells, but the cost of each well is more than 15 million VND, which is too much for the households here.

Faced with that situation, the People's Committee of Thai Hoa Town and Thai Hoa Water Supply Company Limited have conducted a survey and installed clean water pipes for the people. However, only 15 households have access to water. Each household has paid more than 3 million VND. "There are 42 households in need of clean water from the water plant. After surveying and planning, the cost of installing water pipes on the main road and 3 small branches is 169 million VND. Each household has to pay an additional 1.3 million VND for the meter. In total, a household has to pay 5.3 million VND, not including the cost of buying pipes to bring water into the house. We have proposed to the water plant to pay twice to reduce the burden on the people," said Mr. Vien.
It was thought that the plan had been approved, but people waited forever and still there was no movement in implementing it.

Faced with that situation, on May 30, the People's Committee of Thai Hoa Town sent Official Dispatch No. 44 requesting Thai Hoa Water Supply Company Limited to build clean water pipes for people in Lam Son block because the need and necessity of clean water for people is very urgent.

On June 7, the leaders of Thai Hoa Town and the water supply company conducted a survey at Lam Son block and concluded that it was impossible to build a water pipeline to Lam Son block. The reason given by the company was that the current capacity of the factory was very weak, only 4,000m3/day and night, so it could not meet the needs of the people in Lam Son block. Furthermore, because the terrain elevation at Lam Son block is very high, 15-18m, the water pressure could not meet the needs. Thai Hoa Water Supply Company also said that in the near future, the project to expand the water supply system for Thai Hoa Town will build a water pipeline for the people.

The lack of clean water for daily life does not only occur in Lam Son block. The same situation also occurs in two other blocks, Lien Huong and Le Loi of Quang Tien ward. Quang Tien ward is considered a ward with developed production and business activities in Thai Hoa town. Therefore, providing enough clean water for people not only serves daily life but also serves the service, trade and business activities of the people here.

Mr. Pham Xuan Hieu - Vice Chairman of Quang Tien Ward People's Committee said: In the coming time, the ward will hold a meeting with the people to discuss and agree on choosing one of three options. One is that the State will support people to build rainwater tanks, two is to support drilling wells and three is to continue waiting for the project of the Water Supply Company to be implemented. However, the company did not give a specific time when this project will be implemented.

Pham Bang