Quenching people's thirst for clean water

Over the years, the mountainous district of A Luoi has received attention from the government with many poverty reduction programs, however, the economic life of the people is still facing many difficulties and is still one of the poorest districts in the country. The majority of the people are ethnic minorities, with low education levels, large families, and the economy mainly depends on farming. The lack of clean water is also a suffering for the people in this mountainous area. Some villages have a self-flowing water system using water from streams, through dams, filters, and reservoirs and supplying it to households. However, after a long time of use, due to lack of regular maintenance, the water supply system has been seriously degraded and almost completely damaged.

*Many villages in A Luoi are still "thirsty" for clean water.*

In A Roang commune, every day, from early morning, people have to carry heavy basins of clothes through the acacia forest to a deserted stream or a large puddle to wash and bathe. Today is the same, as the afternoon approaches, the number of people coming is increasing... Wiping sweat from his cheeks after finding a bucket of water from the stream to bring home, Mr. Ho A Vin (Kalo village, A Roang commune) said that in the rainy season, people have to use tools to collect rainwater, and in the summer, they have to go to the stream to carry cans of water home for daily use. The road to the stream is many kilometers away from home, too difficult. If you go late, buffaloes and cows come down to bathe, making the stream muddy, making the water unusable...

“Currently, the hot weather has been prolonged, so the upstream water is too dry. When we checked the natural water, it was unusable. Using rainwater makes my family and the people feel worried, not knowing if it is polluted or not, or if there are diseases. I hope the government will pay more attention to investing in clean water projects, so that people have enough water to use, without having to go far…”, Mr. Vin confided.

*People have to get water from streams.*

Chairman of the People's Committee of A Roang - Ho A Lua commune said that over the past years, with the help of local Party Committees and authorities at all levels, the lives of people in the commune have improved a lot. However, the most difficult thing is that more than 700 households living in 7 villages of the commune are seriously lacking clean water. In Kalo village alone, nearly 100 households with more than 360 people have to travel many kilometers every day to get water from mountain streams. Although the mountain road is steep and dangerous, people still try to carry each can of stream water home.

In Lam Dot commune, the lack of clean water is similar to the above. Ms. Ho Thi Gai (Ba Lach hamlet, Lam Dot commune) said that in the village, the self-flowing water project led from the stream built in 2014 has now degraded in many places. In particular, during the current drought period, the water supply project is very limited, only about 7-8 households in the upstream have water to use, so many households downstream are very difficult when they do not have water for daily use. People want to invest in renovating the upstream dam and pipeline to have water to use...

It is known that to solve the problem of clean water shortage for people in A Roang, through the program "Opening clean water sources for the beloved Central region" of Carlsberg Vietnam Company Limited, A Luoi district has upgraded the clean water supply project, constructed a new water supply pipeline system, using the D90 HDPE connector of Thua Thien- Hue water supply plant to bring clean water to the homes of more than 50 households in Kalo village.

*Many villages in A Luoi are still waiting for clean water for daily life and production, thereby gradually escaping poverty.*

According to the leader of Thua Thien - Hue Water Supply Joint Stock Company (HueWACO), currently some mountainous areas in the province have not invested in a complete water supply system. In the mountainous district of A Luoi, there are 8 operating water plants and 1 backup water plant with a total capacity of 7,000m³/day and night, supplying water to about 70.4% of the population with more than 9,000 households. In which, Ta Re water plant was previously managed by the People's Committee of A Luoi district and was later upgraded and renovated. However, because Ta Re stream often dries up in the summer, the clean water supply for people in the mountainous area of A Luoi is lacking during the peak of hot days.

“To ensure safe and stable water supply and increase the rate of people using clean water in the mountainous district of A Luoi, the unit is adjusting the water supply planning for the A Luoi district area until 2025. In particular, building the A Lin water plant with a capacity of 1,000m3/day and night; the A Sap water plant with a capacity of 1,000m3/day and night. The next phase will increase the capacity of these two water plants to serve clean water supply for more than 1,700 households in Hong Van and Trung Son communes and more than 2,000 households in Huong Phong and Lam Dot communes. Thereby helping people in the mountainous area of A Luoi reduce their worries about the lack of clean water every summer”, said Mr. Le Quang Minh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of HueWACO.

Leaving A Luoi when it was already dark, we felt more secure knowing that the authorities would have more projects to provide clean water to the people in the highlands, just as they had hoped... Saying goodbye to the simple people in the highlands of A Luoi, I saw in their eyes a tearful hope, the hope of having a clean water source to worry less and focus on taking care of business and developing the economy...

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By the end of 2022, the poverty rate in A Luoi was 5,399 households, accounting for 38.2%. A Luoi strives to reduce the poverty rate according to the multidimensional poverty standard of the whole district to below 12.01% by 2025, determined to escape from being one of the 74 poorest districts nationwide in the period 2021 - 2025.

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