Hundreds of households long for clean water

“Living with” alum water

After nearly 50 years of being a daughter-in-law in Moc Dinh village, Hong Thuy commune, Mrs. Pham Thi Thuyet (born in 1961) has become very familiar with the source of domestic water taken from wells drilled on the sand dunes behind the village. However, in recent years, this water source has become increasingly contaminated with alum, with the naked eye you can see streaks of sediment and yellowish color remaining at the bottom of the tank, making Mrs. Thuyet very worried.

Sharing with reporters, Ms. Pham Thi Thuyet (born in 1961), Moc Dinh village, Hong Thuy commune (Le Thuy) is worried because the water source is increasingly contaminated with alum.

Ms. Thuyet said that water pumped from the well must be stored in sand filters, but after only 2-3 days, sediment accumulates and gives off a sour smell. This situation has only occurred in the past few years, but before that, the water was still clear and people used it daily.

“Because the water is increasingly contaminated with alum, people mainly use it for watering plants and washing, and laundry is also limited because the fabric quickly rots and becomes stained. As for water for daily life and drinking, we have to buy bottled water,” said Ms. Thuyet.

Currently, people in Moc Dinh village can only overcome the problem by building temporary water filtration tanks or if families can afford it, they can buy water filtration machines. However, the quality of the water source is still a concern. Many households with more difficult circumstances have to carry barrels of water from other places to store for daily use.

For many years now, Ms. Hoang Thi Tam (born in 1978) has had to buy a water filter to serve her daily drinking needs. Struggling to open the filter to check, Ms. Tam sighed and said that she had to change the water filter every 2 weeks because of the thick alum. She knew it was expensive, but what could she do? If she used water directly from the well for cooking, she would not be safe.

Every week, Ms. Hoang Thi Tam, Moc Dinh village, has to check and replace the water filter cartridge of her family.

Mr. Hoang Van Duong, Head of Moc Dinh village, said: In the whole village of more than 360 households, more than half of them have to use water contaminated with heavy alum for daily activities. Many households, when pumping water into the tank, have a scum that is clearly visible to the naked eye. This situation has only occurred in the last 5-7 years, causing villagers to worry about their health, especially the children.

Longing for clean water

Moc Dinh village chief Hoang Van Duong added that because of concerns about increasingly severe alum contamination of water sources, affecting health, at village meetings and meetings with voters, people expressed their hope that authorities would pay attention and create conditions for clean water for daily use.

The situation of alum water contamination is not only in Moc Dinh village but also occurs in other villages in the area. According to statistics of the People's Committee of Hong Thuy commune, the whole commune currently has about 600 households, mainly in Moc Dinh and Moc Thuong 1 villages, which are the most affected.

Chairman of Hong Thuy Commune People's Committee Pham Minh Huan said that the commune is aware of this situation, however, to bring clean water to the people requires a large cost, beyond the capacity of local resources. Previously, the commune also connected and called for investors to survey and build a clean water plant in the area to serve the needs of the people but it has not been implemented yet.

To ensure the health of the people, in the short term, the locality has been focusing on propaganda, recommending that people should use traditional filters through clean sand or water filters before use. But in the long term, it is necessary for all levels to pay attention and invest in clean water systems to serve the daily life of local people.

According to Mr. Tuan, the clean water pipe system has now reached Gia Ninh commune ( Quang Ninh ), bordering Hong Thuy commune. Local people are looking forward to investing in a clean water supply system to serve their daily life and ensure health issues.

Xuan Phu - Thanh Tung

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/xa-hoi/202505/hang-tram-ho-dan-mong-moi-nuoc-sach-2226638/