In an emergency, Mrs. Thach My's family had to let the pond water settle to remove alum before using it. Photo: Kim Anh.

Struggling to "retain water"

Although the peak of the dry season has not yet arrived, many households in the coastal areas of Can Tho City are already struggling with a prolonged shortage of clean water. Khanh Hoa Ward is one of the areas most severely affected.

According to observations by reporters from the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper , currently, along the residential area of ​​District Road 41, specifically the section passing through Lam Thiet A (Khanh Hoa Ward), 2-3 households share a single drilled well. During the dry season , the well water level decreases, exacerbating the water shortage. In many places, groundwater is also reported to be saline and have a foul odor.

The cost of electricity for pumping well water has also become a burden for many households. Ms. Thach Thi Sau Rieng (Lam Thiet A area) said that her family has to use two high-powered motors to pump water. On average, they pump about two tanks of water a day, each time taking nearly 60 minutes.

"The electricity bill therefore costs between 300,000 and 400,000 VND per month. Sadly, we only dare to use the well water for bathing and washing clothes; we have to buy drinking water because it's not safe," Ms. Rieng shared.

Ms. Thach Thi Hang, also residing in Lam Thiet A area, said that her family has lived there for more than 5 years. Every year during this season, they have to "share" well water from a neighboring household at a cost of over 100,000 VND.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Da, head of Lam Thiet A area, out of 179 households in the entire area, more than 50 still do not have access to clean water. Those who can afford it have drilled wells and installed pumps, but not all wells guarantee water quality; in many places, the water is cloudy and heavily contaminated with alum.

Water scarcity is causing significant difficulties for local people in their livestock and farming activities. Ms. Thach My (from the No Tom area) sadly recounted that last year her family's entire pig herd died due to lack of drinking water. During the dry season, the well water becomes salty, even rice tastes salty when cooked. "Without water, you can't raise livestock. Even plants die from the saltwater used for irrigation, let alone pigs," Ms. My lamented.

Currently, Mrs. My's family has to use water from the pond behind their house, drawn from the Phen Canal, for storage and use. During the dry season, when the saltwater level rises, she has to walk more than 1 km to ask relatives for water to use.

The entire Khánh Hòa ward currently has over 8,700 households with nearly 37,300 inhabitants. However, there are only 3 centralized clean water supply stations in the area, with a total capacity of 3,765 m³/day, meeting the needs of only about 4,790 households, equivalent to about 57% of the population. The majority of the remaining households have to use water from drilled wells or utilize surface water from canals and ditches for daily life.

According to statistics from the Department of Economy, Infrastructure and Urban Development of Khanh Hoa ward, the locality currently has 45 residential branch roads, approximately 63 km long, with about 1,400 households (over 6,000 people) that do not have access to clean water.

Tap water is overloaded.

Currently, even many households connected to the centralized water supply system in Khanh Hoa ward are facing problems with weak water pressure and unreliable water quality.

The Hoa Dong water supply station (Tra Teo area, Khanh Hoa ward) currently provides water to approximately 1,800 households. The station was built over 20 years ago, and its pipeline system is small and dilapidated. The distance from the station to the ward center is nearly 7 km, with a section of about 200 meters still lacking water pipes.

Mr. Tran Hai Au's house is only about 500 meters from the Hoa Dong Water Supply Station, but every night he has to stay awake to "guard" the water supply to store it for use. Mr. Au complained that the small water pipes result in insufficient water supply, with frequent power outages or very slow flow during the day. This situation has lasted for about a year now, and residents have repeatedly complained to the authorities, but the problem remains unresolved.

"The water supply station management unit hopes for your understanding because the pipelines are small and the number of households using water is high, so there isn't enough water to serve everyone. People have to wait until late at night to collect water for storage," Mr. Âu explained.

Alarmingly, the water supply stations in Khanh Hoa ward were built many years ago and have not been upgraded or expanded. Their limited capacity and small, dilapidated pipelines cause constant water overload during the dry season. The stations have to regulate water supply to different areas on a rotational basis.

According to Mr. Duong Hoang Vinh, Deputy Head of the Economic, Infrastructure and Urban Planning Department of Khanh Hoa Ward, during the dry season, water supply to residents is irregular and water quality is not guaranteed. Water shortages, cloudy water, water contaminated with alum, and frequent water outages occur.

Faced with this situation, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa Ward has repeatedly petitioned the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Center of Soc Trang Province (formerly), now the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Center of Can Tho City, to prioritize investment in expanding and upgrading the water supply system to ensure sufficient pressure and flow for households, especially during the dry season. However, to date, investment remains stalled, while droughts are becoming increasingly severe and complex, making the clean water problem even more difficult to solve.

Currently, the rate of rural clean water supply according to standards in Can Tho City reaches 82.66%. Of this, the service coverage of centralized water supply systems provided by the former Can Tho Rural Clean Water and Sanitation Center is 96.2%, and by the former Soc Trang Rural Clean Water and Sanitation Center is 65%. The city aims to increase the percentage of households using clean water to 85% by 2030.