Residents of Cô Kiều Hemlet, Tân Thắng Commune got used to collecting water from this site over a month ago. Each person often takes from 30 to 50 litres. And only people who collect about 1 cubic metre onward have to pay for pumping the water from the well up to the tank, which is only from 10 to 20 cents.
"We have a kind neighbor who lets us take water from the well that he dug at no charge. He has helped many villagers." Vo Thanh Hanh, Resident, Tan Thang Commune.
As thousands of residents in Tân Thắng Commune have to buy water at a very high price, from 1.8 to 2.7 US dollars per cubic metre, the local authority had spent money on digging wells. However, despite 1120 to 2240 US dollars spent on each well, no water was found, even at the depth of 50 to 90 metres. The price is unaffordable for a commune with 20% of families regarded as poor households. The authority then provided families with wells 20 tanks to store water, so others can collect water from such wells. This is called local water sharing.
"The district authority provided us with 21 water tanks, 19 of which have the capacity of 2,000 litres. These tanks are put near wells and water sources for the water sharing of local residents." - Nguyen Minh Tue, Vice Chairman, Tan Thang Commune People’s Committee.
Many families came up with the idea of storing water with tanks made of canvas, which help store water whenever it is available. The method requires more effort and electricity usage, but increases the amount of water stored. Sharing water has become an effective way for the people of this region to cope with the drought together.
