Record heat leaves Vientiane without water
In the Laotian capital, residents are frustrated after the government issues a notice urging them to stock up on water with containers. The searing temperatures of recent weeks have complicated the situation, but Laos has long had problems ensuring a safe and steady water supply.
Vientiane (AsiaNews) – Many families in the Laotian capital of Vientiane are struggling with problems related to water shortages due to a great heatwave that has gripped South Asia and Southeast Asia for weeks.
On Saturday, the Water Supply State Enterprise in Vientiane issued an official warning. Citing rising consumption, it reported technical difficulties related to water infrastructure and urged residents, especially those in elevated and suburban areas, to use water sparingly and store it in containers for later use in case of disruptions.
Several people have expressed their frustration on social media because the problem is not new. In the capital, residents claim that the government has failed to take the necessary steps in time.
A resident of Dongnasok, a village in Sikhottabong district, near the capital, told the Laotian Times, that water pressure at his home began to drop in mid-March with the onset of the hot season.
“I have to store water in a tank at night time and use it sparingly, as for drinking water, we filter it in advance, in a 20-litre bottle,” said Douangsavanh ‘Jack’ Phimmasone as he explained how he handled the situation this year, which appears particularly serious because of the intense heat.
Kyungmin Sarah Kim, a South Korean woman who lives in Nongbone, a village in Saysettaha district, faces frequent water outages.
“From the end of April, water has been cut off once every two days. Starting in early May, water has been cut off every half day,” she explained.
Lamenting the lack of forewarning about the outages, she said: “I have never received a government notice. Are they simply pretending to make an announcement?”
Despite abundant water resources, including the Mekong River, whose drainage area in Laos extends over about 200,000 square kilometres, the country is hard pressed to provide clean water, especially in rural communities.
The continued construction of new dams and climate change do not help.
As a 2021 update shows, while 84 per cent of people in Laos have basic water services at home, only 18 per cent can access a safe water supply that meets their daily needs for water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Last year, the Laotian Ministry of Public Works and Transport set as its goal to provide clean, drinking water to 85 per cent of urban residents by 2025, to increase to 90 per cent by 2030.
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31/10/2022 14:23
