Hundreds of Households Eagerly Await Clean Water

In Nam Son village, Xuan Loc commune, Ha Tinh province, over 500 households are grappling with a severe lack of clean water. For years, residents have depended on meager rainwater reserves and water from open wells dug near agricultural fields for their daily needs. The situation forces them to "ration" every drop.

“

The water from the well is sometimes clear, sometimes murky, and smells strongly of alum when you scoop it up. We know it's not hygienic, but what else can we use for bathing and washing?

Residents describe the well water as murky and smelling of alum, acknowledging its unsuitability for hygiene but having no alternative. Cooking relies heavily on stored rainwater, used sparingly. The village's 560 households have more than 500 facing this "thirst," with daily life dependent on seven public wells scattered across the fields. A significant concern is the proximity of these wells to rice paddies, increasing the risk of harmful chemicals from pesticides and herbicides seeping into the groundwater.

To mitigate the issue, villagers resort to adding lime to the wells to reduce odor and alum, a crude and temporary solution. Deeper well drilling attempts have also failed, yielding only heavily alum-contaminated water. Beyond the health risks of polluted water, the community faces acute scarcity during the dry season as rainwater tanks empty and well levels drop due to depleted rivers and canals.

“

Many families here have tried drilling deeper wells to find clean water, but no matter how deep they drill, the water is heavily contaminated with alum and cannot be used.

The high concentration of sediment and impurities in the well water also damages household appliances like pumps, pipes, and showerheads, increasing living expenses. The village head, Ngo Duc Truong, expressed the community's "burning desire" for a centralized clean water supply, a hope they have long held and repeatedly petitioned for.

“

The desire for a centralized supply of clean water is a burning hope for the villagers, held for many years.