Many tourists flock to Co To Island

Tran Nhu Long, party secretary and the chairman of Co To District, said residential areas would be provided with freshwater in turns if there are no heavy rains in the future. Truong Xuan and C4 reservoirs which have been put into use recently are the major water tanks for the area.

However, the water levels in these reservoirs have stayed extremely low because there has been no heavy rain since May.

Long said they had informed the locals and tourists about the situation. However, many people still come to the island. During the weekdays, Co To Island receives 4,000-5,000 visitors each day and the figures go up to 10,000 during the weekends.

"If there is no rain, we may have to provide fresh water to the residential areas alternatively. We also visited each accommodation facilities to warn the locals and tourists about the water shortage. Besides saving water, we are considering using the wells," he said.

Vu Thanh Minh, a hotel owner on Co To Island, said they may have to use the wells or buy water from other people. Facilities with wells can keep holding on for a while.

Other districts and communes in Quang Ninh Province also reported low water levels in their reservoirs and lakes. Yen Lap, the largest reservoir in Quang Ninh which provides water for Bai Chay tourism site, recorded the lowest water level in the past 40 years. As the water source drops and the number of tourists has increased, many households at Bai Chay site have experienced a water shortage.

Tran Manh, director of Quang Ninh Clean Water JSC, said, "Yen Lap Reservoir also provides water to the crops in Quang Yen Commune, Uong Bi City and Ha Long City. We have to use the pumps once every few days but the situation is dire."

It's easy to see the bottom of Yen Lap Reservoir as the water ran out. Cows even wandered into the reservoir to find grass at the exposed areas and boats have been left grounded for months. The authorities have tried to dig a canal but it's no use. If the water level drops five more metres, there will not be enough water left for anything.

Duong Cao Phong from Yen Lap Irrigation Company said they had to reduce the water supply time from nine days to seven days and asked the farmers to make a mini embankment to keep the water inside the fields.

Yen Lap Reservoir has a capacity of 127 cubic metres and was put into use in 1982. Even though Quang Ninh is in the rainy season, there have been only two small showers. Compared to the same period last year, Yen Lap Reservoir has lost 60 cubic metres of water.

Nguyen Xuan Tung, director of Yen Lap Irrigation Company, said Yen Lap Reservoir only had 20 cubic metres of water left. "Our plan is to encourage people to store water themselves that can last for 10 days since their crops will be directly affected by the weather," he said.

Laodong/Dtinews

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