AN BIÊN — A shortage of clean water is threatening 4,000 families living in An Biên coastal District, the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang.

Although a water supply project started in the district last year, due to limited funding it could only supply water for around 5,000 households in five communes of the district.

The VNĐ147 billion (US$3.4 million) project was funded by the World Bank, to which Kiên Giang Province contributed 19 per cent.

Nearly 4,000 other households in the district still lack access to clean water, according to Nguyễn Thanh Bình, director of Kiên Giang Province's Clean Water Centre.

Most of the households in need of clean water were living far from main roads, he said, adding that in many rural areas, it was difficult to build water pipes, so these areas were not included in the project.

Lê Thị Hạnh, 44, living in Bảy Biển hamlet, Nam Thái A Commune, said her family was one of 200 families in this coastal commune who always lack clean water during the ongoing dry season.

Residents in Bảy Biển hamlet, Nam Thái A Commune save fresh water in old tanks for daily use. — Photo vov.vn

“The 200 households hope the water project can be extended to supply us with clean water.”

“We have to take water from the canal for daily use. We crave fresh water," she said.

Many people in Sáu Biển and Xẻo Đôi hamlets have drilled wells but the water is dirty.

According to Nguyễn Văn Tiến, Vice Chairman of Nam Thái A Commune People's Committee, it was the most remote commune of An Biên District.

Tiến said nearly half of the commune's 2,000 households have access to clean water thanks to the project, but the remaining 1,000 households still lack clean water.

To help meet demand of local residents, the province's Clean Water Centre will study and develop a water supply plan and submit it to provincial authorities, according to the centre's director Bình.

Initially, the centre would earmark its own funds to provide tanks for people to store clean water and then install more pipes to supply water for those areas where pipes can be built, he said. — VNS