Description

Many households in the mountainous area of the south-central province of Phú Yên severely lack access to clean water due to the prolonged heatwave from June, typically Đồng Xuân district, as reported by the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on August 19. Residents have to travel a long distance to the only active ground reservoir to get water. Authorities have supported in drilling 4 new wells, digging and dredging deeper 100 existing wells, and buy water to supply to households. Besides, the authority also encouraged local people to reserve water for cooking and search for water from ponds and streams for washing. 

There is a clean water supply facility in Sơn Định Commune, which was constructed by the National poverty reduction and hunger elimination program. Nevertheless, the water shortage from Hòa Bình lake results in the decline of water resources. There are existing wells that were drilled in 2016, however, their capacities have been decreased because of the lack of investment. 

More than one month ago, there was a drinking water crisis in the city of Tuy Hòa. This situation affected nearly 30.000 households. The reason for the sudden water shortage was due to saline intrusion of raw water source in Cả river, that is used by the Phú Yên water supply and sewerage JST company to provide clean water to city’s residents. The company is blamed for not being proactive enough and not timely warning households because the saline intrusion is predictable in the dry season in Phú Yên province. 

In the long run, the province assigns its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to study and propose a reservoir system of the river for basins and areas to ensure water security for domestic and agriculture use. For the rural area facing water scarcity, the province will mobilize investment from the national target program on building new-style rural areas and other sources to construct water supply facilities. 

Sources & further information: “Phú Yên: 634 hộ dân thiếu nước sinh hoạt trầm trọng” at http://daidoanket.vn, “Phú Yên seeks access to clean water” at https://vietnamnews.vn, “Khẩn trương khắc phục sự cố, đảm bảo nước sinh hoạt cho người dân” at https://phuyen.gov.vn, “Phú Yên: Nước nhiễm mặn, thiếu nước sinh hoạt khi đang giãn cách phòng dịch Covid-19” at https://thanhnien.vn, “Thủy điện xả không đúng quy trình, thành phố Tuy Hòa thiếu nước sinh hoạt trên diện rộng” at https://vov.vn, accessed on 26 August 2021.