Near the water source... but "thirsty" for clean water!
Like many other households in Nam Hai Lang commune, the family of Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen (born in 1967) in group 11, My Chanh village is always in a situation of lacking clean water for daily use. To solve the urgent need for daily water, Ms. Huyen invested in drilling a well up to 45m deep. However, the well water is heavily contaminated with alum. Water is pumped from the well and passed through a multi-layer filter tank system, but the alum smell still remains. Every few days, Ms. Huyen has to clean the surface of the filter tank, scooping away a thick layer of alum that looks like dark yellow mud. "Although we have found many ways to treat the well water, we cannot remove all the alum. The water is cloudy and has a foul smell. We can only use it for watering plants and cleaning the house, not to mention for bathing and washing... let alone cooking and drinking. Clean water for the family to use for drinking and washing must be bought in bottles," Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen shared.
Sharing the same situation as Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, the family of Mr. Doan Van Bi (born in 1973) in the same My Chanh village also invested in drilling a 50m deep well, right next to National Highway 1A. The pumped water is yellow with alum, and cannot be used for drinking, bathing, or washing. “My family has been "thirsty" for clean water for three generations, from my parents to me and now my children. Using alum-contaminated, unsanitary water, people in the village and commune suffer from many diseases, especially skin and intestinal diseases,” Mr. Doan Van Bi said indignantly.
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| Although treated through a filter tank system, well water in My Chanh village, Nam Hai Lang commune still has a cloudy yellow color due to alum - Photo: TL |
Mr. Le Van Phong, Deputy Head of My Chanh Village, said: “If you look at the surface of Nam Hai Lang Commune in general and My Chanh Village in particular, which is an area close to the national highway and the river, no one would think that there is a serious lack of clean water, especially in the summer. But in reality, for decades, people have been "thirsty" for clean water. Daily water sources must be purchased in Hue City or bottled water, which is very expensive every month.”
“After the merger, Nam Hai Lang commune has a population of 25,536 people. Apart from 1,450 households in the old Hai Phong commune that have invested in a clean water supply system from Hoa Binh Chuong Water Plant, Hue City for use, all the remaining residents are in the same situation of lacking clean water for daily use. As for the old Hai Phong commune, although they can use clean water, they have to buy it at a quite high price, up to 15,000 VND/m3. In response to the urgent need for clean water of people in the southern border area of Quang Tri, the Provincial People's Committee decided to invest in the water supply system project in the old Hai Chanh commune in 2014. However, after the unfinished construction, it had to stop from 2015 until now. Therefore, the dream of Nam Hai Lang people about clean water is still just a dream,” said Mr. Nguyen Duong Thanh Binh, Vice Chairman of Nam Hai Lang Commune People's Committee.
Clean water project... built halfway and then abandoned!
The reason why the people of My Chanh village were quite upset when we mentioned the issue of clean water... is because the location where the water supply system was built in the old Hai Chanh commune is deserted, gradually deteriorating, and has even been a shelter for buffalo and cows for more than 10 years, only 200 to 500 meters from their houses.
According to the records currently stored in Nam Hai Lang commune, the water supply system project in the old Hai Chanh commune, invested by the old Quang Tri Clean Water Joint Stock Company, started construction in June 2014, expected to be completed and put into use from July 2015. The project invests in building a clean water treatment system that meets water supply standards with a capacity of 2,000m3/day and night; scale of a level IV project. Surface water source is taken from O Lau river, the section flowing through My Chanh village. The treatment station is built on an area of 0.4ha. The distribution and transmission pipeline network D≥100mm is 6,338m long and more than 17,000m of branch pipes and connection services meet the clean water needs of more than 1,100 households in the southern communes of the old Hai Lang district, now Nam Hai Lang commune.
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| The devastated scene of the project - Photo: TL |
The project was approved for investment by the People's Committee of the former Quang Tri province in 2010 with a total investment of 20,480 billion VND; adjusted investment in 2014, the capital increased to nearly 31 billion VND. Of which, more than 8.2 billion VND is ODA aid capital from the Italian Government under the Balance of Payments and Water Sector Support Program between the Vietnamese Government and the Italian Government.
By September 2015, the investor had basically completed the construction of the infrastructure. However, the entire equipment installation from ODA capital was not implemented according to the approved schedule and plan. After that, the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Italy on the implementation of the Balance of Payments and Water Sector Support Program ended, the aid capital could not be disbursed, forcing the project to stop from 2015 to present.
“After the formation of the new Quang Tri province, the repair and handling of the water supply system project in the old Hai Chanh commune has not yet been restarted by the relevant departments, branches and units. In the coming time, the local government hopes that the People's Committee of Quang Tri province will soon pay attention to allocating capital to complete the project, helping people have clean water to use,” Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Hai Lang commune Nguyen Duong Thanh Binh suggested.
Deputy Head of My Chanh Village, Le Van Phong, expressed: “People’s anger is real because, first, they really need clean water for use. Second, they feel sorry for an abandoned project that has been seriously degraded for more than 10 years, causing tens of billions of dong in waste of the state budget. Third, in those 10 years, people have made hundreds of proposals and petitions through voter meetings from the commune, district, province to the National Assembly, but have not seen the authorities resolve the issue “reasonably”, causing the project to be more seriously damaged, while people wait wearily for clean water.”
Regarding the remediation and handling of the water supply system project in the former Hai Chanh commune, the People's Committee of the former Quang Tri province previously reported to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consideration and resolution in the following direction: Proposing to terminate the implementation of the Balance of Payments and Water Sector Support Program between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Italy to settle the invested construction items. Allocate reserve funds from the central budget to continue completing the remaining items to put them into operation. Proposing the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to assign the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to balance the local budget and socialized capital sources for implementation, avoiding waste and causing public outrage.
Ngo Thanh Long
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xa-hoi/202511/khat-nuoc-sach-o-vung-song-nuoc-0d2444b/
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