Many households in Vinh City are miserable because the water plant refuses new customers.
For the past few months, many households in Vinh City have been in a difficult situation because the water plant has refused to sign contracts with new customers. In particular, many households that are building new houses have had to find ways to get clean water for workers to work, while some households have finished building their houses but still have to borrow water from their neighbors.
Rush to drill wells in the heart of Vinh city
In early August, Ms. TH (42 years old, Hung Dung ward, Vinh city) and her husband were still using all their connections to try to sign a contract to buy clean water from Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company. "We have asked everywhere but still have not been able to get any results. The house is almost finished and we are about to move in, but we still have not signed a contract to buy water for daily use," Ms. H. shook her head in disappointment.
Ms. H. and her husband used to live with her parents. Recently, the family bought a piece of land on Ton That Tung Street to build a separate house. All the documents and procedures are complete. “In April 2024, I brought the documents and procedures to Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company to sign a contract to buy clean water to have water for the construction workers. But at that time, the water plant staff said to bring the documents back, about 10 days before the start of construction, they would bring them up and they would make a contract, then send staff to connect the water. But when that time came, the water plant said they would not sell anymore,” Ms. H. said, adding that after the groundbreaking ceremony, the family waited for many days but still did not see the water plant staff come down to connect the water. Meanwhile, the construction contractor kept urging because the workers could not work without water.
Because of impatience, Ms. H.'s family contacted the water plant almost every day to sign a connection contract but were still refused. Unable to wait any longer, Ms. H. and her husband had to bite the bullet and hire someone to drill a well to get water for the construction workers. "The well water here is salty, so building a house will definitely affect the quality. The iron and steel will also rust. But there is no other way, so we still have to choose this solution. But in the long run, when we move in soon and still cannot buy water, we do not know how we will live. If we built a house in an area where the water pipe has not reached, we would accept it. But now, the neighbors living on both sides of the house already have clean water, the water pipe runs right in front of the house but still cannot buy water to use, it is absurd. I did not think that right in the center of Vinh City, we would have to face this situation," Ms. H. said helplessly.
Not only Ms. H., according to the reporter's records, in Vinh City, there are many other cases in the same situation. Most of the families who built houses or moved here in the past few months have not signed a water purchase contract. Therefore, they have had to rush to drill wells.
Meanwhile, in Vinh Tan ward, Mr. VM (43 years old) said that because he was afraid of affecting the quality of his house, he did not dare to drill a well to get water for the workers to build his house. After a long time of waiting and still not being able to get a contract from the water plant, Mr. M. had to ask his neighbor to connect to buy water from this household.
Not long ago, Mr. M. bought a plot of land in the Danatol Cua Tien Urban Area to move down from a nearby apartment building. In May 2024, Mr. M.'s family brought all the necessary documents and procedures to sign a water purchase contract but were refused. “Because we just bought land here, we don't know any neighbors. We waited for a long time to buy water but still couldn't, while the investor of the urban area urged us to build a house soon, if we didn't finish the construction on schedule, we would be fined. Many people also advised us to drill a well to use, but I was afraid it would affect the quality of the house, so I didn't dare. After many months of waiting, a family living next door felt sorry for us and agreed to connect from their house, and I paid them whatever it cost. I don't understand why, living in an urban area, the water pipe reaches the house but I still can't sign a contract," Mr. M. said indignantly.
However, what makes these households even more upset is that at the same time, a few households built similar new houses, but still had contracts signed by the water plant. “I also asked many other households who were building new houses at the same time, in the same area as us. They said that they had to take advantage of relationships everywhere, and ask for intervention to be able to buy water. I don’t understand why, just buying water for daily use is so difficult,” Ms. TH added.
Require water plants not to refuse new customers
Discussing this issue, Mr. Le Sy Chien - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee said that the city has also received information reflecting this situation for a long time. After that, Vinh City People's Committee also went to work directly many times, then sent documents to Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company. "We have worked many times, requesting Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company not to do that. Their responsibility is to supply water. If you cannot agree, sign the contract, if you do not agree, then forget it. The water plant then promised to have a plan to fix it," said Mr. Chien.
Specifically, from June 21, 2024, the Vinh City People's Committee has sent a document on water supply to ensure the daily needs of local people to Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company. The document also clearly stated that Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company must not refuse to sign contracts for new customers who are residents in the Vinh City water supply area.
Mr. Hoang Van Hai - General Director of Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company said, "We are doing a lot of work, maybe we haven't done it in that area yet. We have already announced this issue. The plant's capacity is only 92,000 cubic meters, but the current output has exceeded this volume. So many areas will be weak. That's all I can answer," Mr. Hai said.
According to Mr. Le Sy Chien - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee, regarding the issue, the leaders of the City People's Committee have issued a document assigning the Urban Management Department to be responsible for monitoring the situation, performing its functions and tasks according to the provisions of law to advise the City People's Committee to fulfill its administrative responsibilities in ensuring safe water supply. At the same time, quickly synthesize reports and recommend the Provincial People's Committee and the Provincial Safe Water Supply Steering Committee to have appropriate instructions.
However, speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Viet Duc - Head of Vinh City Urban Management Department said that the unit was not aware of this situation. "We have a document coordinating with Nghe An Water Supply Joint Stock Company. This situation does not exist. It is possible that these households moved in without permission from the authorities. If there are complete documents and procedures but they are not connected to the water source, I confirm that it is not true," said Mr. Duc.
Meanwhile, the households that the reporter recorded all had complete documents and procedures. “We have full land use right certificates and full construction permits in accordance with regulations for the water plant to sign the contract. The houses are not located in areas lacking water, all the houses around are fully supplied with water,” Ms. TH affirmed.