VietNamNet Bridge – More than 200 households are continuing to struggle with water shortages in a Ghenh Rang Ward fishing village in central coastal Binh Dinh Province.

The shortage has extended into a second month and began when three local wells ran out of water, cutting off households in Quy Nhon City. — Photo baotintuc

The shortage has extended into a second month and began when three local wells ran out of water, cutting off households in Quy Nhon City.

Local resident Vo Thi My said her family had since resorted to buying water from the city to conduct daily activities, like cooking and drinking.

"At this time, our tank to store rain water was also empty because of the prolonged hot weather," she said.

According to one Vietnam News Agency's correspondent in the province, it costs around VND70,000-100,000 (US$3-5) for each 1,000 litres of clean water. The extra cost has been a heavy burden for some households, who remain some of the poorest in the city.

Another local resident, Bui Minh Chuong, said the ward's People's Committee had suggested providing VND1 million ($47) to each household for digging wells.

"But we said no," he said.

The cost of digging a well was estimated to be about VND10 million ($470) and nobody was sure that water would be found, he said.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Secretary of the ward said that the fishing village was located in a remote part of the city and was surrounded by mountains and the sea.

Although it was about 10km away from the city's central district, the area was listed to be the poorest parts of the city, he said.

As a result, local households would have to use water from wells for daily activities, he said.

Chairman of the local People's Committee Huynh Van Trung said that the area had suffered the most from a lack of water in recent years.

In the short term, the committee would begin to send tank trucks to sell clean water to local residents in the next several days, he said.

In the long term, the committee has planned to build a large tank on a local mountain, where scientists have located a stable water source, to provide water for the households, he added.

It was calculated to cost about VND7 billion ($350,000) to build the tank, he added.

The committee has since submitted a request for financial support from the city.

In Tra Xuan Town in the central coastal province of Quang Ngai, about 1,200 households, who have been reliant on wells for a decade, have been suffering from a lack of water, while local wells have run dry due to hot weather conditions.

The town, which contains about 1,800 households, built a system to provide clean water for local residents in 2005. However, the system has only been delivering clean water to 600 households.

Resident Ho Van Thanh said that in the dry season last year, his family had spent VND30 million ($1,500) to dig a well, but the well only contained water in the rainy season, he added.

Nguyen Duy Tan, vice chairman of the town's People's Committee, said a request had been submitted to the province to build an additional system to provide clean water for the households, but no response had been given.

VNS/VNN