Staying up all night to collect clean water during the peak dry season, saltwater intrusion

Use alum-deposition river water

The peak of the dry season and saltwater intrusion are causing many households in areas of Soc Trang province (old), now Can Tho City, to fall into prolonged domestic water shortages. Not only water shortage, many places also have to use alum-contaminated water sources.

In Lieu Tu commune, Can Tho city, from before Tet Nguyen Dan until now, hundreds of households have almost no tap water during the day. Water only flows in small drops at night, many families have to take turns staying up all night to collect each bucket of water.

Mr. Lam Sen's household in Hamlet 1, Bung Triet hamlet (Lieu Tu commune, Can Tho city) has been living in hardship for more than half a month due to water shortages. "On Tet holiday, children and grandchildren come to reunite, sometimes more than ten people in the house, but domestic water is completely interrupted, forcing them to buy bottled water to use. Up to now, about 30-40 bottles have been bought. Here, almost every household has to buy, so many grocery stores no longer have bottled water to sell" - Mr. Sen's wife said.

According to her, the bottled water is only enough for eating and drinking, and cooking is very limited due to the lack of food wash water, sometimes having to buy lunch boxes. Bathing and washing clothes are also hard, having to ask for water everywhere, even going to relatives' houses a few kilometers away or taking clothes to the market to wash.

She said that before, the water bill was only a few tens to about 100,000 VND per month, but recently, even though there is no water to use, the family still spends extra money to buy bottled water, rent clothes to wash and buy ready-made food.

According to her, the water shortage has lasted for about 2 years, often recurring in the dry season and during Tet. Even when there is water at night, the water flows weakly, yellow and cloudy, with odors, so they dare not use it.

Water shortages also occur in My Tu, An Ninh, Truong Khanh, Thanh Thoi An communes, Vinh Chau ward, Nga Nam... A household in Tra Lay hamlet (My Huong commune) said that from the 28th to the 7th day of Tet, there was absolutely no tap water, the family was forced to use river water but could not help but worry about the quality. On social networks, many people continuously reflect on the quality of domestic water. The prolonged situation makes many people worried.

Weak infrastructure, large power shortage

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, through summarizing reports from 42/43 communes and wards in Soc Trang (old), water shortages occur even in the rainy season, when demand is not at the highest level.
Many water supply systems are in a weak, shortage situation, especially at the end of the pipeline.During peak hours (5pm - 7pm), holidays, Tet or the dry season, water does not flow at times.Water quality in some places is not guaranteed, with cloudy, yellow, alum-contaminated, and salty odors appearing.

Notably, currently there are 78/119 water supply stations with only one well exploited. When a well encounters an incident, water supply may be interrupted for 25-30 days to complete procedures and repair construction.

Water treatment systems in many places are outdated and degraded; lack of large storage tanks and backup generators, so they are completely dependent on the power grid. When there is a power outage, the station stops operating, which means people are cut off from water.

According to calculations, to ensure 100% of rural households use clean water, the capacity needs to reach about 296,210m3/day and night, while currently it only reaches 118,548m3/day and night, a shortage of about 177,662m3/day and night.

The total length of the pipeline needs to be expanded to 1,372,593m to serve more than 43,200 households and more than 30,100 scattered households need household-scale water supply solutions.

Short-term solutions, long-term calculations

According to the Can Tho City Department of Agriculture and Environment, in the immediate future, the City Center for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation has proposed drilling additional backup wells at stations with only one exploitation well; equipping tanks with a capacity of 10,000 liters and opening 37 free water supply points for people in deep-lying, coastal areas and households that have not yet accessed the centralized water supply system.

In the long term, the city is working with Aquaone Hau Giang Water Joint Stock Company to develop a plan to buy water through the total meter. However, this plan requires investment in nearly 100km of main transmission pipelines and more than 600km of branch lines, with a total estimated investment of over 6,000 billion VND.

In the period 2026 - 2030, the city plans to invest in 22 rural clean water supply projects, with a total capital of more than 1,022 billion VND, prioritizing groundwater exploitation to reduce dependence on groundwater sources.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, in the current period, water supply in some areas is still mainly maintained according to the current status. Weak pressure, local water shortage, interruptions during peak hours or when there are power outages still occur. In some places, people reflect that the water is colored and not clear. The agricultural and environmental sector calls on local authorities to strengthen propaganda and mobilize people to use water sparingly, proactively store water during the day, especially during holidays, Tet and peak dry seasons.