Fields are deserted due to lack of water
In April 2026, amidst the harsh sun of the dry season, the border area of Ia Rve commune seems to be "ranged" under high temperatures, with yellowed grass and dry land. Red dirt roads that were bustling with sugarcane trucks are now covered with dust, clinging to each roof and kitchen corner, making the space even more suffocating.
In that context, clean water shortage is no longer a temporary concern but has become a constant pressure for thousands of households. Mr. Nguyen Van Chinh (village 2) shared that since being allocated 1ha of production land in 2010, his family has not been able to escape poverty. The biggest reason is water shortage. Every dry season, the land is cracked, unable to cultivate, his wife and he have to work as hired laborers to raise two children. At the peak of drought, people have to travel kilometers to transport water or buy it at high costs. For poor and near-poor households, this is a burden forcing them to minimize living expenses.
Ms. Luong Thi Hoai - a poor household in the commune - also fell into a similar situation. For 20 years, her family had to borrow land for cultivation, only harvesting one summer-autumn crop each year; about 4 months in the dry season, the land was abandoned, and the whole family went to work as hired laborers to earn a living.
In fact, in the dry season, many ponds, lakes, and canals in Ia Rve are dry to the bottom, and small streams also only have cracked mud. Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan - Head of the Economic Department of Ia Rve commune - informed that although not yet at the peak of drought, many canals have dried up. People mainly grow drought-tolerant crops such as sugarcane and tobacco, but the efficiency is low. The desire to switch to higher value crops such as watermelons and coffee still faces many obstacles due to lack of water.
800 people severely lack domestic water
According to local people, from April to May every year is the driest time in Ia Rve. At that time, not only production but also daily life are severely lacking water. Domestic water sources become a difficult problem.
In hamlet 13, Mr. Le Minh Hien said that although there is a 32km long main western canal leading water from Ea Sup Thuong lake, the effectiveness is limited; in the dry season, many sections of the canal are shallow to the bottom. Without tap water, many households have to use well water contaminated with alum and lime, posing a potential risk to health. When boiled, the water leaves a white sediment layer at the bottom.
On peak days, well-off households have to buy water at high costs; and many families rely on tanker trucks of border guards and police - "life-saving water veins" coming to each house.
Since 2020, the local water plant has been put into operation with a designed capacity of about 650m3 per day and night, enough to supply more than 1,000 households. However, due to lack of funding and input water sources, the dry season only serves about 200 households. This difference shows inadequacies in investment and exploitation of water supply works in arid areas.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Chairman of Ia Rve Commune People's Committee - proposed that the locality hopes to soon upgrade the plant, complete the pipeline system to expand the water supply scope, helping people access clean water sources more stably. Thereby, reducing the risk of disease and improving people's lives.
Ia Rve is a border commune bordering Cambodia, with an area of more than 217km2, with more than 6,700 people in 12 villages, mainly ethnic minorities. In the dry season, the whole commune only has one canal and one dam for production, while many other reservoirs are dry to the bottom. Worryingly, villages 1, 2 and 4 are frequently short of domestic water due to depleted groundwater; about 200 households, nearly 800 people are severely short of water.
