Kien Giang (VNA) – More than 5,660households in An Bien district in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang lack access toclean water and have to harvest rainwater or buy clean water from otherareas, according to the district’s People’s Committee.

In the district, only 9,982 households, ornearly 33 percent of its population, have access to tap water.

According to Le Thanh Phe, Secretary of the PartyCell and head of Dong Giua hamlet in Nam Thai commune, the hamlet has 343households but only 100 have access to clean water for household use.

The remaining households withoutaccess to clean water have to harvest rainwater and store water foruse year round or buy clean water from other places.

Vo Van Truong, a resident in Dong Giua hamlet,said people living in the coastal area were concerned because waterresources are affected by alum and saline intrusion in the dry season. Peoplein the hamlet need access to tap water.

In many areas in the district, groundwater resources are affected by saline intrusion, so people can not drill borewells for clean water.

In addition, a number of households living inareas with tap water supply do not have enough moneyto install water pines and a water metre to access the tap waternetwork.

In recent years, the province has invested inclean-water supply projects to increase access to a number ofhouseholds in the district.

In 2017, the provincial People’s Committeebuilt a water supply station in Nam Yen commune’s 3 Bien hamlet to supply cleanwater to 5,860 households in Nam Yen, Tay Yen, Tay Yen A, Nam Thai and NamThai A communes.

The station has a daily capacity of 2,500cu.m and a pipe network of 230 km.

The Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment’s Water Resources Institute and the HCM City Development JointStock Commercial Bank donated to build two water supply projects in Nam Thai communeto supply free water this year.

The district has a total of five concentratedwater supply stations which provide tap water for 9,982 households, or nearly33 percent of its population.

To Thanh Doan, Vice Cairman of the district’sPeople’s Committee, said the lack of clean water for household use, especiallyin coastal communes, was the most serious problem.

The province’s Clean Water and EnvironmentalSanitation Centre was expected to ask the People’s Committee to allocatefunds to supply tap water for the district's households, he said./.