Nearly 2 months since the stream in Binh Phu commune (Chiem Hoa, Tuyen Quang) was polluted by sewage sludge from the breakup of a lead-zinc dam in Bac Kan overflowed, students at Binh Phu Primary and Secondary School still did not dare to use the spring water for daily life.
In order to have water for daily living, students have to look forward to bottled water, water filters from charity units.
Mr. Tran Hong Ninh - Vice Rector of Binh Phu Primary and Secondary School said that the fear of water shortage is growing gradually since the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (Ministry of Health) informed that the results of testing all water samples in Binh Phu commune did not meet the standards for living.
"At present, the school is still using water from donors, but the amount of water is not enough for the students to use for daily living," Ninh worried.
Meanwhile, many households in Binh Phu commune are also struggling every day, finding all ways to have water for their families because spring water or drilled well water is not guaranteed.
Ma Thi Cuan, a householder near the spring in Binh Phu Commune, said that after the breakdown of the sludge dam, her family did not dare to use spring water or well water due to fears of health effects, lead poisoning.
"The well water here I dare not use for cooking, only for washing the dishes, after which I still have to get clean water to rinse.
“My house still uses available subsidized water and asks for water from households with pipes from the mountain, but it is not enough, it is very difficult. I hope the water problem is soon solved to help people stabilize their lives soon," said Ms. Cuan.
With hundreds of households affected by the dam failure in Bac Kan, the use of bottled water or piped water from the mountain is only a temporary solution. In the long run, especially coming when the weather is dry, the depleted water will have no water to use.
Quan Thi Chieu - Chairwoman of Binh Phu Commune People's Committee said that the locality is still working with Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal One Member Limited Liability Company to conduct surveys of areas likely to have water sources for people.
"Through the review, the ravines are very rare water, especially in the dry season. The immediate solution is to still support the people of the country, the source of funding from agencies, units and donors from the last storm No. 3.
However, in order to solve the water problem in the long term, this is a difficult problem for the locality. We will try to have solutions for the people soon, "said the leader of the information commune.
As Lao Dong reported, on September 9th, in Ban Thi Commune (Cho Don, Bac Kan), a mud dam bank rupture of Bac Kan Non-Ferrous Metals One Member Limited Liability Company caused more than 1,500 tons of waste to spill out, seriously affecting the environment.
Previously, on October 2, the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (Ministry of Health) issued document No. 348 on the results of testing 10/10 water samples taken in Binh Phu commune (Chiem Hoa) are not up to standards for daily use in physicochemical and microbiological parameters.
