VietNamNet Bridge – Residents in Vinh Quynh commune of Thanh Tri district in Hanoi have been told not to use water from drilled wells, but they insist they only have well water to use.

In 1996, scientists visited Vinh Quynh to explore the underground water in the locality.

After drilling wells there and testing the water, they concluded that the underground water in the area, located near Van Dien Cemetery, was seriously polluted and that locals should not use the water from drilled wells.

In 1997, the Thanh Tri district People’s Committee decided to spend VND5 billion to build a water pumping station and a pipe system to transmit clean water to every household in the locality.

However, despite the existence of the works, thousands of households in the locality still need clean water.

The problem is that the pipe system was designed to serve 13,000 members of 3,000 households only.

However, the number of local residents has soared to the current 23,000.

The rapid increase in the population is not the only reason behind the clean water shortage.

The water supply works, built many years ago, are old and break down regularly. As the pipes are underground, it is difficult to discover the places that need repair.

In 2010, the district authorities again decided to spend several billions of dong to upgrade the water supply system and buy a new water pump. However, the situation has not improved.

Since the pipes break regularly, the water loss in the transmission has increased.

The commune’s authorities have decided to charge higher fees for clean water to offset the loss.

Customers now have to pay VND9,000 for every cubic meter of clean water they use, or VND3,900 per cubic meter higher than the ceiling price level set by the Hanoi People’s Committee.

In 2013, the commune authorities, when implementing the project on upgrading roads, discovered many broken water pipes underground which were causing water loss and pollution.

The number of households that can access clean water has now dropped from 2,000 to 600.

In late 2013, the city authorities approved a project to build a water supply system in Vinh Quynh Commune, capitalized at VND125.640 billion.

However, Nguyen Huyen Phuong, a local resident in Quynh Do Hamlet, said the project had not been implemented.

“We don’t know why the project has not started. And for the time being, we have to either use dirty water or buy clean water at high prices,” she said.

Kim Chi