Worrying about lack of water for daily use in the dry season

Local lack of domestic water

For nearly a month now, 34 ethnic minority households in Phung village (Ia Phang commune, Chu Puh district) have been experiencing a local shortage of domestic water. The village’s well system, although pumped twice a day, still cannot bring water to areas far from the pipeline or to high ground.

Mr. Rmah Chung (Phung village, Ia Phang commune, Chu Puh district) next to a dry water tank. Photo: ND

Mr. Rmah Chưng (Phung village) reflected: “My family’s life as well as that of some households in the village has been disrupted due to the lack of local water for daily use. Every day, we wait forever to get only a few liters of water in the tank for washing dishes, not enough for bathing and washing. For cooking, we have to buy bottled water for use.”

Mr. Rmah Thop (in the same village) shared: Currently, his family and many households in the village are lacking water for daily use because the water supply system to the house is no longer able to provide. For many days, family members have not been able to bathe or wash due to lack of water, and have to buy bottled water for cooking. "Now we can only wait for early rain to store water for daily use and wait for the water from the well to rise again to have enough water for daily use" - Mr. Thop said.

Phung village water tank provides domestic water for hundreds of households every day. Photo: ND

Phung village has 304 households, mainly Jrai ethnic people. In recent years, every time the dry season peaks, many households have been short of water for daily use. Mr. Le Son Cam Thao - Secretary of Phung village Party Cell - informed: The village has 2 centralized well projects that have brought pipes and water meters to each house. The projects are managed, used and repaired by the people themselves when they are damaged.

Currently, some households still suffer from local water shortages due to high demand for domestic water during the dry season, while the water level in the two wells has dropped sharply, making it impossible to bring water to areas far from the pipeline.

In addition, in 2024, the rainfall was low, so the groundwater source decreased sharply, leading to a lack of water for daily use by 34 households. Currently, the people are looking forward to the State's support in building more wells so that they no longer have to worry about a lack of water for daily use during the dry season.

Similarly, for nearly a month now, people in Jro Ktu Dak Yang village (Yang Bac commune, Dak Po district) have also been facing difficulties as wells in the area have begun to run out of water. Ms. Dinh Thi Doai said: Her family's well is only 12 meters deep, so it has now run out of water. For nearly a month now, her family has had to go to the village's centralized well to get more water for use; at the same time, they buy more bottled water for cooking. For bathing and washing, they use water from the Ba River.

Mr. Dao Van Tuan (in the same village) said: His family's well is only 12 meters deep, so every year there is a shortage of water in the dry season. In 2020, he hired someone to drill 100 meters deeper but still did not have enough water. The reason is that the terrain is high and rocky, so there is little underground water passing through.

“Every year during the dry season, my family has to buy bottled water for cooking. When the well runs dry, the family goes to the Ba River to bathe and wash clothes and fetch water for home use. That causes a lot of difficulties for the family’s daily life,” Mr. Tuan shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loc's family (Jro Ktu Dak Yang village, Yang Bac commune, Dak Po district) has to buy bottled water for cooking. Photo: HT

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Van Loc (in the same village) confided: “For nearly a month now, my family's well has had to be shared with 3 other households in the village. In fact, my family's well and many other households here are contaminated with lime, so most households have to buy bottled water for cooking all year round. We hope that authorities will pay attention to investing in well drilling projects to provide clean water for people, helping to overcome the water shortage in the dry season.”

Mr. Dinh Chuyen - Party Cell Secretary and Head of Jro Ktu Dak Yang Village - said: Because the village has many areas located on high ground and with many rocks, the wells can only be dug 11-15 m deep, leading to a lack of water in the dry season. Up to now, 5 wells have dried up; the remaining wells are also lacking water, causing difficulties for people's daily life.

“Currently, the village has 3 centralized water projects invested by the State. However, the wells at these projects are only about 12 meters deep, so the village has encouraged households to come and get water and use it economically to prevent prolonged drought causing water shortages in the next few months,” Mr. Chuyen added.

Find a solution

In recent years, many localities in the province have invested in centralized wells to meet the clean water needs of the people. However, in some villages, people still face water shortages in the dry season, especially from late April to June every year. Therefore, many localities have proactively sought solutions to support people to overcome difficulties caused by lack of domestic water in the dry season.

Mr. Dinh Hvu, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Yang Bac Commune, said: The commune has invested in 4 drilled wells and a number of concentrated dug wells to provide domestic water for the people. However, water shortages occur every year, especially around May and June.

“Jro Ktu Dak Yang village is located in a high and rocky area, so the wells are not deep, leading to water shortages earlier than other villages. The People's Committee of the commune has encouraged households to use water economically. Households lacking water can go to 3 centralized water wells invested in the village under the new rural development program to get water for use,” said the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Yang Bac commune.

Ms. Dinh Thi Doai (carrying her child) and many ethnic minority households in Jro Ktu Dak Yang village use Ba River water for bathing and washing to save well water. Photo: Hong Thuong

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province currently has 285 centralized rural water supply projects. Of these, 53 projects are operating sustainably, 106 projects are operating relatively sustainably, 54 projects are operating less sustainably, and 72 projects are not operating.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vo Minh Can - Vice Chairman of Ia Phang Commune People's Committee - informed: Every time the dry season begins, some households in Phung village suffer from local shortages of domestic water, especially those living in high terrain areas, far from water pipes.

Faced with this situation, the Commune and District People's Committees have surveyed and sought solutions; at the same time, they have mobilized households to share their domestic water sources to overcome this difficult period. Currently, the Gia Lai Branch of Olam Company Limited has conducted a survey and plans to support Phung villagers with a well and a filtration system to "quench their thirst" for local domestic water shortages.

Mr. Pham Van Thuy - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Chu Puh district - said: In the face of the risk of drought, lack of irrigation water for crops and local domestic water, the District People's Committee has established 3 inspection teams to guide drought prevention and control work in communes and towns. In particular, focusing on checking the water level at irrigation works and the current status of centralized domestic water supply works in the area to have solutions to support people in coping with drought, local domestic water shortage...

According to information from the Central Highlands Hydrometeorological Station, drought and local water shortages have occurred in some localities in the province. It is forecasted that in the next 10 days, drought and local water shortages will increase in localities and areas that do not have proactive water sources and are far from irrigation works. Therefore, localities need to proactively find solutions to support domestic water for people, helping people stabilize their lives.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/canh-canh-noi-lo-thieu-nuoc-sinh-hoat-vao-mua-kho-248884.html