Why are 4 communes in Chi Linh still outside the centralized water supply network?

Use natural water sources

For many years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nam's family in Le Loi town, Le Loi commune has been using well water for all family activities. The family has used the well for a long time, water from the well is pumped up to the tank on the roof to supply the floors. "Although it is a well water source, my family feels that the water is clean and cool. The water is available all year round, enough to meet the needs of the whole family," Ms. Nam said.

Le Loi town currently has about 100 households, each family has a well drilled from the underground water source. The water is quite clean, serving the daily drinking and living needs of the households. Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Party Cell Secretary, Head of Le Loi town, said that many units have come to take water samples for testing and the results all confirm that the underground water source here is hygienic and meets the conditions for daily use. For many years, local leaders have not recorded any complaints about water quality from the people. Even in the dry season, the underground water source is still enough for people to use. There was a time when many families in the area installed additional water filters, but now they almost do not use them because the quality of the water source is always guaranteed. In Le Loi commune, there are no factories or production plants that discharge waste, and livestock farming is also planned, so the water source is not affected.

Not only Le Loi commune, but also the remaining 3 localities, people mainly use spring water and well water.An has relatively good water quality. Previously, Hoang Hoa Tham commune invested in building a clean water project for ethnic minorities. This project currently provides water for 75 households but mainly for daily use and not for drinking.

Is it necessary to invest in clean water projects?

According to the 2023 survey, Bac An commune has 1,685 households and Hoang Hoa Tham commune has 879 households, all of which are using natural underground water sources. It is very difficult to mobilize investment from businesses in the two communes due to complex terrain and sparse population. Investing in clean water projects will require large capital, it will take longer to earn profits, and customers will have to bear more costs.

Because there is no centralized water supply project, the two communes of Bac An and Hoang Hoa Tham are having difficulty meeting the criteria for living environment quality to meet the advanced new rural standards.According to the province's set of advanced new rural criteria for the 2021-2025 period, the clean water criteria include: 100% of households must have access to clean water that meets standards and 99% or more of households must use clean water that meets standards from the centralized water supply system.

So is it necessary to build centralized water supply works in these localities at the present stage just to meet the criteria for building advanced new rural areas? Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Huu Dang, Deputy Chief of the Provincial Office for Coordination of New Rural Area Construction, said: "In the process of considering and recognizing advanced new rural areas, the appraisal team will be flexible when assessing the criteria for clean water for these localities. Households in the commune only need to have measures to filter water and store water to ensure hygiene"...

Given the needs and realities of these four communes, the construction of centralized clean water supply facilities is not really necessary. What people want is for authorities to periodically take water samples to test for indicators so that people can feel more secure when using natural underground water sources.

In the Hai Duong Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, it is determined that there are 4 mountainous communes in Chi Linh City, including Bac An, Hoa Tham, Hung Dao and Le Loi, that are using spring water and well water with relatively good water quality. The planning also clearly states the plan for developing water supply infrastructure in Chi Linh City in the coming period. Accordingly, the capacity of Van An water plant will be increased to 32,000 m3/day and night to supply water to part of Bac An and Le Loi communes; Ben Tam water plant will be built with a capacity of 5,000 m3/day and night to supply water to Hoang Hoa Tham commune and part of Bac An commune; and Hung Dao clean water supply station will be built with a capacity of 2,500 m3/day and night...