Nearly one thousand households in Ngoc Than hamlet of Ngoc My commune in Hanoi say the high number of cancer cases in the locality are due to polluted water from a large pond that they use every day.

Ngoc Than’s people have been looking for water sources over the last five years, but they have not found any, and are still using the pond.

They have no choice but to use water from ponds and rice fields through interlacing water pipes, filtering the water with their self-made cursory tanks to use for cooking and washing.

In Ngoc Thanh Hamlet, the country lanes seem to have become narrower because of the water pipes hung on trees and electricity poles.

This is similar to the images in the inner city of Hanoi where the electrical poles have many tangled wire. But in Ngoc Than Hamlet, it is small plastic water pipes.

In front of the communal house in the hamlet is a large pond, called Ao Sen. From this, the water is pumped through about 200 water pipes hung over trees, house walls and electricity poles to every household.

Locals say a large pond is the main source of water in the hamlet.

Head of Ngoc Than Hamlet Nguyen Ba Hung said there has been no underground water in the locality for the last six years. Therefore, people cannot get water from the wells they have drilled.

“As there is no other water source, we have to use the water from the pond. However, it is now the dry season. We are using the last drops of water from Ao Sen,” he said.

Nguyen Van Khoi, a local resident, said people lacked sufficient water. They fear that Ao Sen may become depleted one day as it provides water for 4,000 people, half of the Ngoc Than’s population.

“We need clean water for daily use and for husbandry. We do not know how much more time the pond can exist,” Khoi said.

However, though the pond is the main source of water for the hamlet’s people, they seemingly do not try to protect it.

The pond area is the place where locals slaughter fowls, wash clothes and discharge waste water.

“Why do locals continue washing here, but not at home, though they know this will pollute the pond?” a reporter asked.

“Where should we do this then?” replied Nguyen Ba Hung, head of the hamlet.

Hung said that though people had spent a lot of money to drill wells and pump water from the pond, the water is still not clean enough for them to use daily.

“We are thirsty. What can we do if we don’t drink water from the pond?” he asked.  

The pond is used not only by the locals for their daily  water, but also by livestock farms, which discharge waste water into the pond every day.

Source: Dai Doan Ket