Some 1,000 households in Yên Thọ Commune in the central province of Thanh Hoá have endured a shortage of clean water for two months.

A dried-up water well in the commune. — Photo tienphong.vn

Most wells have dried up. Despite efforts to dig more wells, the water supply is still insufficient for daily needs.

Hà Xuân Bái, 79, in Tu Mục 2 Ward, told Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that the situation was unprecedented.

“I dug 2m deeper, seeking more water,” he said.

Hồ Xuân Độ’s family has suffered the same situation since the end of 2018.

“The well water stinks, so we have to buy bottled water to drink and cook with,” he said.

Local people blamed illegal sand mining along the Mã River and the dismantling of a dam on the river for the depletion of groundwater.

According to Hồ Xuân Bình, head of Yên Thọ Commune People’s Committee, in response to the water shortage, the provincial department of agriculture and rural development has decided to open a drainage gate of a canal belonging to the northern Chu River – southern Mã River irrigation system, providing water to local fields.

However, this solution has resulted in little improvement. — VNS