Lack of water and loss of livelihood while living at the foot of unfinished hydropower plant in Tuyen Quang

Lack of water in the valley

Reporting to Lao Dong Newspaper, many households in Tung Ba Commune (Tuyen Quang) said that since the Ban Kieng hydropower project resumed construction (in 2024), the water source has been increasingly depleted, causing daily life to be disrupted and livelihoods to be threatened.

There is a house located at the foot of the mountain, where the hydropower project is under construction for more than 2km, Mr. Trieu Van Hung (Hong Minh village, Tung Ba commune) said that before the project was implemented, the upstream water was in the water, flowing all year round, enough for daily use.

Since the project was restarted, the water flow has not returned to the original level. In the dry season, many households have to find water everywhere to use, sometimes traveling thousands of kilometers to have enough for daily use.

To have a broth, Mr. Hung's family borrowed nearly 20 million VND to drill a well tens of meters deep, but the drilled water became cloudy, had a strange smell, could not be used, so it had to be left empty.

After that, he switched to using water from the well to dig a hand, but the amount of water was still not enough. During the peak of drought, the whole village lacked water for daily use, many households had to go to a stream 1-2km from the village to bathe and get water for temporary use.

men are easy, women are more difficult, often having to carry a can to transport water, it is very difficult. Going far, I can only carry a few cans, just enough to eat a day," said Mr. Hung.

Not only his family, many households in Hong Minh and Ban Kieng villages are also struggling to find water for daily use.

Mr. Nong Van Cao (Hong Minh village, Tung Ba commune) said that to have water for his family, he had to connect a 5km long plastic pipe leading from the stream on the top of the mountain to the village.

Although the installation costs tens of millions of VND - a large amount of money for people in mountainous areas, that is the only solution, because if they do not do it, the family will not have water to live in.

"The amount of water brought in is only enough for daily use, not enough for production. This is a temporary plan, because after a period of exposure to the sun and rain, the plastic pipes are constantly damaged, so they have to be connected, replaced, and have to pay additional repair costs, Mr. Cao shared.

There were times when the water was jammed, he had to travel through the forest for kilometers to find a damaged place, it took him a whole day to fix it.

"In the dry season, there is a lack of water, in the rainy season, the water is cloudy, it cannot be used. I hope there will soon be a solution to stabilize the water source," he added.

According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, the clean water tank area at the foot of the mountain - where the hydropower project was deployed - was nearly dry, the tank wall was covered with barbed wire, cloudy water, the tank had covers, and leaves were covered with fallen trees.

People said that this tank used to collect water from mountain crevices, but since the construction of the project, the amount of water flow has decreased sharply, and there are many times when there is almost no water.

livelihood worries

Not only lacking domestic water, people around the Ban Kieng hydropower project area are also worried when rocks and soil from the mountainside often slide, gravel and rocks are scattered on the fields, damaging crops.

In Hong Minh village, many fields along the foot of the mountain are now rutted with food. Every heavy rain, rocks and soil float down high up, burying the banks, and the irrigation water is increasingly depleted.

The people around the area are mostly Tay and Dao ethnic groups, and their lives are still difficult, mainly relying on self-sufficient agriculture. The prolonged lack of water and shortage of fields put them at risk of losing their livelihoods.

According to research, from March to July 2025, the People's Committee of Tung Ba commune has repeatedly made inspection records and recorded the situation of soil and rock from the hydropower plant overflowing.

In May, heavy rain caused rocks and soil to slide into the fields and gardens of many households, causing damage to crops and canals. The Commune People's Committee continues to request businesses to overcome the situation.

On June 5, the inspection team determined that rocks and soil were dumped in the wrong location, overflowing into more than 3,000m2 of rice fields, blocking the flow, directly affecting the irrigation of people in Hong Minh village.

Most recently, the record on July 15 recorded flash floods, mud and rocks from upstream areas, burying more than 21,000m2 of rice fields, 700m2 of fish ponds and dozens of meters of irrigation canals.

Informing the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, the leader of Tung Ba Commune People's Committee confirmed the situation of people lacking water for daily life and production, directly affecting fields and crops, disrupting livelihoods.

Faced with this reality, the commune has requested the project construction unit to fix the water source, ensuring long-term stability.

The upstream stream area needs to be dredged to reduce the flow to the fields, restoring agricultural production.

According to the local leader, according to the latest statistics, there are about 30 households affected with an area of 30,000 - 40,000m2.

"The project unit said that after completing the dam above, it will continue to build an auxiliary dam to prevent floods and prevent rocks and soil from flowing down. However, the main project has not been completed, leading to unstable water sources," the commune leader added.