80 households in Phuoc Chi commune need clean water

For decades, many households in Binh Phu hamlet, Phuoc Chi commune, Tay Ninh province have lacked clean water for their daily needs. People here have petitioned the local government and relevant agencies, but to date they still do not have clean water as desired.

Water filtration system behind Mr. Luc's house

Water source contaminated with iron

Binh Phu Hamlet is one of the hamlets along the Vam Co Dong River in Phuoc Chi Commune. This land is heavily contaminated with alum. Water from dug wells and drilled wells must be passed through alum filtering equipment but does not meet the demand.

Mr. Nguyen Van Luc, resident of Group 4, Binh Phu Hamlet, said: “From his grandfather’s generation until now, the water here has not been usable. Before the war, a pond was dug to get rainwater for use, but it was still not usable because it was heavily polluted. From this area to Ong Sai Bridge, water for daily use is very difficult.”

Over the past decades, Mr. Luc's family has applied many measures such as drilling a well more than 300 meters deep and investing in a filtration system. However, the filtered water from this system is still polluted and can only be used to wash hands and feet, wash clothes, and cannot be used to cook food or drink.

To have clean water, Mr. Luc had to invest in a small water filter in the house. Every day, he took water from the large water filter system and continued to pass it through the small water filter. However, the amount of water collected from the small filter was quite small, only enough for one person to bathe each day. For water for cooking and drinking, his family had to buy water filters sold on the market.

Mr. Luc suggested that the local government and relevant agencies invest in a clean water pipeline from the intersection of Binh Phu hamlet to Ong Sai bridge for people to use. “This is what people here want the most,” he said.

Water collected from large water filtration systems is only used for washing hands, feet and clothes, not for eating or drinking.

A few dozen meters away from Mr. Luc's family, Mr. Le Van Ca's household is also worried about domestic water. Mr. Ca said that in 1990, he and some residents went to the Commune People's Committee to petition the local government to support domestic water and electricity for lighting. For more than ten years, electricity for lighting has been supported, but the problem of clean water has not been resolved. Faced with the above situation, Mr. Ca suggested: "The wells have been contaminated with alum for a long time, causing harm to health. I hope the State will pay attention to bringing water to the people."

In response to the petition of the people of Binh Phu hamlet, the People's Committee of Phuoc Chi commune sent a dispatch to convey voters' opinions before the 8th and 9th Sessions of the Commune People's Council (term XII), term 2021-2026 to the Center for Irrigation and Clean Water (referred to as the Center), under the Department of Agriculture and Environment with the content: "Voters of Binh Phu hamlet, Phuoc Chi commune propose to install an additional water filtration system from the intersection of Binh Phu hamlet to Ong Sai bridge, serving 80 households living along this route so that people have clean water to use".

Every day, Mr. Luc has to filter each bottle of water for bathing.

Waiting for clean water

On August 8, the Center for Irrigation and Clean Water coordinated with the People's Committee of Phuoc Chi commune to survey the current water supply status in Binh Phu hamlet and the people's needs. Through the survey, from the intersection of Binh Phu hamlet to Ong Sai bridge, there are 80 households in need of clean water for daily life. The households are far apart, the residential area is sparse, the proposed location does not have a water supply pipeline to serve the people, it is necessary to invest and install 6km of water supply pipeline (3km on each side of the road). The estimated cost of investment and installation of water supply pipeline is about 900 million VND.

However, the Center responded that with the large investment level, the Center has not yet balanced the funding source to ensure the implementation of investment and installation of pipelines in the current period. In order to create conditions for households in the area to access clean water from water supply works, the Center requested the People's Committee of Phuoc Chi commune to make a specific list of households in need of water, send it to the unit as a basis for proposing a project to upgrade and expand the water supply pipeline from legal sources of capital (if any), ensuring clean water service for people, protecting health and social security.

In case households need to use clean water early from the water supply project, the Center will support water meters and send technical staff to connect. The investment and installation costs for the water cable pipeline are proposed to be paid by the People's Committee of Phuoc Chi Commune after consulting with the people.

Every day, Mr. Luc filters about 20 bottles of water, just enough to meet the bathing needs of one person.

Regarding the above issue, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, Director of the Phuoc Chi Commune Public Administration Service Center Tran Minh Tung said that the Commune People's Committee will review the needs and current situation, report to the Provincial People's Committee, Department of Agriculture and Environment, Department of Construction, propose and recommend funding from the new rural construction source on clean water environment to support the commune with funding for connecting water pipes to provide clean water to people.

In addition, the commune recommends that the Provincial People's Committee integrate this content into projects related to remote, border areas to expand support.

Mr. Tran Minh Tung added that while waiting for the State's support, the Commune People's Committee plans to coordinate with the Youth Union, Women's Union, Veterans Association, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee to mobilize philanthropists to support funding or provide preferential loans to build a temporary clean water system.

In addition, the locality will strengthen propaganda and mobilize social resources to install centralized water filtration systems in densely populated areas for many households to use.

Mr. Le Van Ca drilled a well with a depth of more than 300 meters, however, he is worried that if used for a long time, it will be contaminated with alum.

With the attention of local authorities, functional agencies and many of the above solutions, it is hoped that in the coming time, 80 households in Binh Phu hamlet, Phuoc Chi commune will soon have clean water to use./.

Ocean – Sy Cong

Source: https://baolongan.vn/80-ho-dan-xa-phuoc-chi-can-nuoc-sach-a204351.html