REPORT on Water quality assessment and Recommendation on treatment solutions, monitoring the water quality in Huong Khe and Vu Quang Districts, Ha Tinh Province doc

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...2 Annex 1: General information about the water sample selected to analyse...2 Annex 2: The table synthetising the results of the analysis and evaluation

REPORT on Water quality assessment and Recommendation on treatment solutions, monitoring the water quality in Huong Khe and Vu Quang Districts, Ha Tinh Province

Conducting Consultative group:

1) Doan The Loi, group leader 2) Dang Ngoc Hanh, group member 3) Tran Duc Anh, group member

HANOI: APRIL 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION, OBJECTIVE, TASKS, EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND CONDUCTING

METHOD 2

1.1 Introduction 2

1.2 Objective and Tasks of the Consultative Group 2

1.3 Expected Outcomes 2

1.4 Conducting method 2

II OVERVIEW AND CURRENT SITUATION OF THE SURVEY AREA 2

2.1 Economic and social situation 2

2.2 The current situation of water resources and the usage of water for eating, drinking and for daily activities 2

2.3 Organization of implementing the project (building wells, filter tanks and latrines) 2

III RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF WATER SAMPLES AND RECOMMENDATION ON SUITABLE SOLUTIONS 2

3.1 Evaluate water quality base on the results of analysis in the laboratory of water samples 2 3.2 Propose some solutions to water treatment works: 2

3.3 Recommendation on the specific solutions to treat and monitor the water quality in the affected flood areas 2

IV RECOMMENDATIONS ON DESIGNING AND BUIDING WELLS, FILTER TANKS AND LATRINES 2

4.1 Latrine works 2

4.2 Wells and filter tank 2

4.3 Organization and implementation 2

V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 2

Annex 1: General information about the water sample selected to analyse 2

Annex 2: The table synthetising the results of the analysis and evaluation of the quality of water samples 2

Annex 3: The result of water samples analysis 2

Annex 4: Summary of rapid informations evaluated ofthe water source during the survey process 2

Annex 5: Questionnaire collecting the information about the evaluation of water quality in Huong Khe and Vu Quang districts, Ha Tinh Province 2

I INTRODUCTION, OBJECTIVE, TASKS, EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND

CONDUCTING METHOD 1.1 Introduction

In early October 2010, the two consecutive severe floods (from 1st to 6th Oct andfrom 14th -18th Oct) happened in the five provinces of the Central Vietnam includingNghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue Ha Tinh was the placethat suffered from the most serious damage, in which Huong Khe and Vu Quang, the poordistricts of Ha Tinh province, were damaged very seriously Floods made the people, whowere already poor became poorer and influenced greatly their life, daily activities andproduction

According to the report of the project on relief and livelihood recovery after flood

in Ha Tinh province conducted by Oxfam, 15 communes of Vu Quang and Huong Khedistricts were selected by Oxfam for emergency relief and recovery after flood (7communes of Huong Khe districts are Loc Yen, Huong Thuy, Hoa Hai, Phuc Dong, HaLinh, Phuong Dien and Phuong My and 8 communes of Vu Quang district are Vu Quangtown, Huong Minh, Huong Quang, Huong Tho, An Phu, Duc Linh, Duc Giang and DucLien) To continue to carry out the activities supporting building latrines and wells as perthe approved plan, the consultative group conducted the survey, evaluated the quality ofthe water resource, recommended the solutions to treat and monitor the quality of thewater for daily activities of 10 communes as per Oxfam’s recommendations

Oxfam decided to support:

+ Huong Khe district: 120 wells; 120 latrines (for Ha Linh, Phuong Dien, Phuong

My and Loc Yen communes)

+ Vu Quang district: 150 wells và 150 sand filter tanks; 150 latrines (for DucLien, Huong Tho, Duc Giang, Duc Linh and An Phu communes)

The households eligible for assistance haven’t had or already had wells, theirlatrines were destroyed after the two floods and they are poor households and are usuallyaffected by floods Among the activities for assistance, Oxfam appreciate the solutionsthat maximize the usage of local labour and use materials at the localities and maximizeworking to increase income for people

To carry out the above activities well, to ensure scientific characteristics and inaccordance with the real situation of of locality, the consultative group is responsible forconducting the survey, evaluating and giving recommendations on the best solution toreach the objective of the project The tasks of the consultative group were stated in theTOR and the outline for activities approved by Oxfam, specifically:

1.2 Objective and Tasks of the Consultative Group

Objective 1: Establish a baseline of water quality through analysis water samples

in 10 communes of Vu Quang and Huong Khe districts (list water samples in communes,see Annex 1)

Objective 2: To recommend necessary interventions, including advocacy issues to

Oxfam and partners in order to improve water quality and monitor water quality in floodaffected areas

To achive the above objective, the consultative group implemented the followingactivities:

+ From March 13 to March 22, 2011, the consultative group conducted the survey

on the real situation of 10 communes of 2 districts

- The consultative group worked with Oxfam’s project management board in VuQuang and Huong Khe districts to catch the general information and listen to the report

on the results of the implementation of the project, its advantages and disadvantages Thegroup discussed the plan and selected the place for the survey

- Conducted the survey to identify the information according to the outlinesubmitted to Oxfam

- Selected the place to take the water sample; took the sample, made the samplerecord (focusing on the places where there is problem with water source as per people’sreflection) Considered, evaluated the quality of the treatment constructions that arecurrently applied in localities, people’s experience in water treatment and people’spreparedpareness and prevention against floods

1.3 Expected Outcomes:

According to the TOR and the research outline, the consultative group achievedthe following main results:

Result 1: The report on analysis of the water quality test of 05 communes of

Huong Khe and 05 commune of Vu Quang

Result 2: Evaluate designing dug wells, latrines and recommend necessary

solutions to help Oxfam’s management board in two districts to implement projectsefficiently

Result 3 : On the basis of the result of sample analysis, recommend the specific

solutions to treat and monitor the water quality in the affected flood areas

Result 4: Training on community supervision Guide for managment, reparing the

dug wells and solutions to cope with during flood happening

1.4 Conducting method:

The methods used during the research include:

- Statistics, collecting the available documents,

- Group discussion,

- Participation of community,

- Surveying, measuring, evaluating, taking the photos of the scene,

- Analysing quality,

- Comparison, evaluation, measuring, designing

The methods of implementation are described in the logical research framework as

follow:

The logical research framework:

Evaluating the well samples and water treatment designing of consultative unit

designed for Oxfam, suggest the solutions to adjust/ fix and add (if any any)

Deal with data, recomment and give tecnical design treatment structure, works, develop training material etc, reporting and the training at two districts

- Observe, evaluate preliminarily the ability of the water souce and water quality by the indirect indicators

- Surveing, evaluating water treatment works built by people themselves using sand filter (techinical, diagram, materials used, maintaining and effecttive of treatment)

- Design sample program, define water samples record including: position, characteristics of water source, the ability to provide etc, evaluate preliminarily the quality etc

II OVERVIEW AND CURRENT SITUATION OF THE SURVEY AREA 2.1 Economic and Social situation

a) Natural, economic and social conditions of the project area:

+ Huong Khe district: Huong Khe is a mountainous district of Ha Tinh, it bordersLaos in the west, Quang Binh in the south, Can Xuyen and Thach Ha districts in the East,

Vu Quang and Can Loc districts in the North It has a moutainous terrain, Rao Comoutain is highest (2,235 metres) Ngan Tuoi river flows through the area into Ngan Sauriver Its total natural area is 1,278.09 km² with a population of 107,996 people (January,2009) including Tho, Thai, Kinh, Chut people, but the majority is Kinh people HuongKhe has more than 22 affiliated administrative units Agricutural is the main livelihood ofthe people in the district The farm land is little, infrastructure hasn’s been developed, theliving standard of most housholds is still low, the rate of poor household is still high

Vu Quang district: Vu Quang is a moutainous district of Ha Tinh, it is 70kilomitres far away from Ha Tinh, 70 kilometers from Hanoi in the West, it has a 42-kilometer border with Laos, has a moutainous terrain and especially has the Vu Quangnational garden Vu Quang district has the natural area of 62,284 ha with a population of35,877 people (January, 2009); it has 12 affiliated administrative units that are the VuQuang town and provinces Duc Lien, Duc Huong, Duc Bong, Duc Linh, Duc Giang, AnPhu, Huong Tho, Huong Minh, Huong Dien, Huong Quang and Son Tho Its farm land islittle, infrastructure hasn’s been developed, the living standard of most housholds is stilllow, the rate of poor household is still high

The communes that are sopported by Oxfam are poor communes of the district, therate of poor households is very high (55.38% in Huong Khe district and 50.27% in VuQuang district) People’s life mainly depends on agricultural production while the land islittle, in Huong Khe, the land for each household on average is only 0.34 ha perhousehold and 0.29 ha per household in Vu Quang The land is little, and is mainlycropland, the rate of cultivated land for a rice crop is very low (Huong Khe: 43% and VuQuang: 49%) During the year, there is only one certain cultivated crop (spring crop), theseasonal crop is very uncertain because of the annual flood The annual floods havecaused many dificulties for farmers such as poor crop, lack of food, diseases etc (seeTable 1)

Table 1: The area of agricultural land and the rate of poor households

households

Population The rate

of poorhousehold(%)

Agricultural area (ha)

is time it lasts about 10 to 15 days

c) Flood’s impact

The floods that come annually have caused great destruction for people in thecommunes When floods come, that mostly the agricultural cultivated land is submergedfrom 3 to 5 days, which has caused great destruction for production, especially in theyears when floods come early and destroy crop, especially farm crop of seasonal crop,there are even the years when great may-rain floods caused great impact on agriculturalproduction When there is flood at the main crop time, there is usually 34-45 % of thehouseholds in the commune is submerged (water submerges floor), if great flood comes,there is 70-80% of the household is submerged, in Phuong Dien, Loc Yen, Ha Linhcommunes, in the flood in year 2010, there is even 90-95% of the houses was submerged

That flood destroys people’s property and farm crop influences directly productionand people’s life, influences community health and ecological environment such as: poorcrop, houses and furniture swept away; the outbreak of epidemic diseases, pollutedenvironment; destroyed infrastructure etc For having been living with floods for manyrecent years, people as well as local authorities have been active carrying out very wellthe preparedness against flood, contributing to minimize the destruction caused by flood.All communes developed the plans for preparedness against flood very early (finished byApril) Their plans have mentioned the situations that can happen and the respondingsolutions such as evacuating and gathering people to some places etc Moreover, people’ssprit to respond to flood is very good Before the flood season, they had prepared well thenecessary tools for their families such as boats, canoes; evacuating buffalos, cows andcattles (send them to the households who live in higher area) before 1 to 3 days since theflood forecast etc Therefore, the impacts of flood are also limited, especially there is littleloss of humans.

d) Flood prevention at localities

Authorities at all levels are interest very mach on flood prevention and disasters;local organizations such as farmers association, women association, veterans associationcoordinate with local authorities to develop the plans for preparedness against flood Thishas attracted the participation of most members who are the key officers as well as thelocal organizations Through the survey at 10 communes of the flood area, theconsultative group evaluate that the preparedness against flood is carried out veryseriously and effectively, specially:

- The plans for flood prevention and disaster are all developed by April annually.Meetings to generalize and carry out those plans are held in hamlets, residential areas andall households know about them

- The plans are prepared quite detailed and fully the situations when floodhappening such as:

+ Design the places to assemble people to evacuate them (when necessary), thenecessary conditions for daily activities when flood comes

+ The plans about information and contacting, boats for the guiding board (usually

at the office of the people’s committee)

+ Assign tasks for each hamlet, especially interchanging and integratinghouseholds living in the low and higher places to ensure the high community characterwhen flood comes

+ Arrange and assign the responsibility for evacuating people and poverty of eacharea for each specific key officer of hamlets and organizations

+ Plans for carrying out the common sanitation work, repairing and restoring thepublic works such as channels, rural roads after flood.

To each household, strictly follow the plans for preparedness against flood of thecommune, at the same time develop the plan for its own family such as:

+ Prepare boats and canoes or rafts to use on emergency

+ Prepare for the plan to move furniture to a higher place and evacuate buffalos,cows, pigs and chickens etc to a safe place when there is the flood announcement of thecommune (in year 2010 for the flood was too great and came so quickly, people couldn’trespond timely)

All the households knew to take the highest flood level of the great floods orhistorical floods to make the guard larder to protect property (eg year 2007, 2010) Afterthe historical flood in year 2010, many households increase the height of the guard larder

to prevent the floods of the next years

2.2 The current situation of water resources and usage of water for drinking and daily activities

a) The current situation of water resources:

The main water resource used for eating, drinking and daily use of the communes

in the project area is from the underground The underground water is exploited and used

by households through dug or drill wells and using directly for drinking, eating and dailyuse On the basis of the real survey result and people’s feedback, it is evaluated in generalthat the background water resource of the project is good, its reserves isquite plentiful and can meet the demand of eating, drinking and daily use of people in thearea

Most dug wells are normanlly from 7-10 meters in depth; therefore, some area isoften not enough water to use in dry season, especially in the years when there is greatdrought The current tendency is that people use drilled wells of 20-25 meters in depth,some drill wells of 30-45 meters in depth However, water from drill wells are normanllyhave proplem with iron contamination

b) The current situation of the quality of water used for eating, drinking and dailyactivities:

According to the general comments and evaluation of the communes’ officers,socio-organizations and local people, the quality of the water resource of the communes

in the project area is basically good and can be used for eating, drinking and for dailyactivities The characteristics to know if the quality of the water resource is good or bad,according to the experience of people, is that the water is considered pure and odorlesswhen it is pumped out, people used for make tea it will be green and keep specificsflavour tea The water samples from these wells often meet the requirements indicators

about sanitation of the Ministry of Health after analysis Except for some dug wells thatmeet the springs that are not good and have the signal of pollution (popular with drilledwells of above 20 meters in depth) such as the water has the stinking smell, water scumsand water makes dregs after pumping If the water source is contaminated with iron ordissolved iron it will have the deep red color and it will not have the flavour of the greentea when it is heated up to make green tea However, these signs of pollution will notcause great influence on people’s health and it only needs the normal treatment and thencan be be used such as sun exposure and being filtered through the sand filter tank etc Atpresent, households have applied the treatment method such as using the sand filter tanketc, however, for their techniques are not correct, the water treatment process hasn’tbrought about good results (photo 1 and 2, Annex 5)

Although the quality of the water source is good, the local people’s living customspartly influence the sanitation of the water source such as the water tank doesn’t have itscover and this causes the water to be easily contaminated or the water tank would be theplace for mosquitoes to breed in (Photo 2 Annex 5) or many households often make thestables to raise buffalos or cows in front of the house, near the kitchen or their wells, andthis is not a good custom that can make the water source polluted There are thehouseholds, their wells located only 3-5 meters far away from the stables of buffalos andthis can cause the high risk of microbiological infection

c) Description, evaluation and prediction of the ability to be influenced by thepollutants when flood comes and solutions on water source and environmental sanitation

in case of emergency:

Living in frequently affected flood area, local people often prepare the tool to storewater in case of flood Except when there are great and long floods, and running out ofthe stored water source, the households often get the water from the ravines and springs

in the mountain or from the upper households (these households’ wells are notsubmerged) These are the experience in living with floods of the local people to haveclean water in flood season (excluding the households that do not have means or floodsare too great, water current is too strong and therefore, boats or rafts cannot be used).Thus, it is little likely that the contaminated water can be used when flood comes This isalso an issue of consideration on implementing relief activities

In general, after floods, submerged wells are often contaminated because the floodwater flows into, although, local people is often have conscious to protect their wells butmany is not effecttive because wrong material used After immediately flood, people areoften have to wait for wells to be cleaned, and have to wait for infection treatment to beconducted and just can reuse the wells after that In the period after flood, the demand forwater for daily activities is very high to clean the environment and houses If we guideand popularize the suitable measures to prevent wells from getting contaminated whenthey are submerged by flood, after flood receded, people will have water to use

immediately and don’t have to wait for wells to be cleaned For example, when the heavyrain has the risk to cause flood, it is only needed to catch the rain water to the well to full

or as much as possible, after that put the cover tightly on top of the wells, when the floodoverflows, the flood water with contaminated cannot flow into the wells Thus, peoplecan use the wells immediately after the flood recedes The well with guidle protectionabout will reduce the most oppotunity contaminated by flood water, so people can usedfor many activities for learning, event used for drinking but must be boiled before used After flood, if it is found out that the water in the wells are turbid for floodoverflows the wells, before using that water, it is compulsary to pump water up to thecontaining tank (most households have the water tank with the volume of about 0.5m3) todecant the water and to have treant ment by Cloramin B according to the guidelines of thelocal health sector The households that have the low sand filter tanks shoul used fortretment before multies using

d) About the latrine works: Most households in the commune have their ownlatrines, but most are temporary and do not meet the criteria about sanitation, except forsome rich households or those households that had been supported by Diana organization

to build two-compartment latrines whose latrines are quite good Through flood phases,people have good evaluation about the two-compartment latrine style and find them verysuitable with the flood area When flood comes, use soil to cover of the toilet then theexcrement will not be washed away This design sample had been applied by Dianaorganization when they support to build latrines Through the past flood phase, basically,the latrines could ensure hygiene and were quite sustainable, were hardly damaged It ishoped that each house will be supported to have a two-compartment latrine However, toensure the stability of the latrine, it is needed to add the foundation structure (photo 5,annex 5)

After flood phases, women, youth organizations etc participate in cleaning houses,roads and environmental sanitation with high responsibility, this a a good tradition thatneed to be promoted

e) The current situation of the wells that are being used

- Dug well has the diameter of 0.7-1.2 metres; its curb is casted by concrete tubes,except for the wells that were dug tens years before (about 10-15 years), the wells areoften the dug wells (not concrete), the part of the well that is near the ground and above isbuilt by bricks in about 1 metre However, through many times being submerged byflood, wells still exist for these tens years, very little wells are collapsed and swept awaybecause of the sand flow and swirl The survey on the dug wells in the area shows that thegeology of the are is quite good, those wells that were dug 7-8 metres in depth are stillmaintained until present without curbs The households that dig wells later often use thewater well ring to make the curb to ensure the hygiene of the water source and prevent thesurface water from absorbing into wells According to people’s experience, wells are

often dug in the dry season because the ground then is hard and therefore is more stable,and if there is adequate water in the wells at the dry season, it is sure that there will beenough water to use for all of year.

- Drilled well: In recent years, some households have used drilled wells Thedrilled wells are often drilled by the well-drilling-workers because they have means andexperience Moreover, they have experience in finding out the underground water source.However, the drilled wells have more probability to meet the chalybeate water

f) About the water treatment works: Most households have quite good watersource They use the water immediately after pumping, therefore, they do not need thewater treatment works Normally water is pumped into the containing tank, and then it isused for cooking and daily activities Except for some chalybeate wells that are stinking,turbid or wells with water that after pumping has scum, turns to yellow color…., peoplewill do the water treatment before using The popular method at present is using the sandfilter tank and exposing under the sun before using People often follow the custom onmaking the sand filter tank which is mostly technically incorrect and therefore, the quality

of the water treatment is not good

During the survey process, the consultative group noticed that the households of

Ms Hang, Mr Thanh (hamlet 8, Ha Linh commne, telephone 0393874402) built the filtertank quite well, although the water is chalybeate, the water treatment was very good.(Photo 8, Annex 5) When we asked them about the way they built the water tank, theyanswered that they learned the water treatment method through newspaper If the filtertanks are built in a technically correct way, people can do the water treatment with thesurface water and the flood water left in the wells to use without having waiting for doingthe cleaning work If there are guidelines about the techniques to filter water, theeffectiveness and the ability to apply them into reality are very high because most peoplevery much care about the quality of the water for daily use (Photo 1, 2, Annex 5)

Moreover, with the normal filtering method (sand filtering), the materials used forfiltering such as sand and gravels are very much available in locality, people can takethem directly from rivers and springs to use

2.3 Organization of implementing the project (building wells, filter tanks and latrines)

a) The Oxfam project management board at district

The Oxfam project management board at district carried out project work asfollow:

- Held meetings with communal leaders, communal relief board to popularize thecriteria of selecting the households that get support this time Held meeting with people tohave public selection as agreed

- Developed the record of the design and the estimated budget for building latrinesand wells.

- Discussed and decided the plans for building latrines and wells

In general, the households that received support are the right targeted ones, andtherefore, there is no complaint The selection of the contractor to build latrines and todrill wells ensure the right progress and the technical requirements are suitable Theassigning households to organize digging wells by themselves is reasonable to ensure theright progress When the works are completed and ensure the good quality, the projectmanagement at district will directly inspect and pay

b) Communal, hamlet authorities and Communal Relief Board

The Communal Relief Board is usually guided directly by chairperson or chairperson with the participation of social organizations such as Women Union,Veterans Association etc The members of the board participate enthusiastically in suchactivities of the board as:

vice Defined objects on the basis of poverty and loss caused by flood criteria.Publicized the support rate ( wells: about 2 million VND per well; latrines: 4 millionVND per latrine, filter tanks: 1 million VND per tank)

- Assigned the number of works for hamlets on the basis of the rate of poorhouseholds in the hamlet

- Households registered their needed works (wells, filter tanks or latrines) Thecommunal relief board cooperated with leaders, unions and hamlets to hold meetings andlot to define the list of households that needed support with each kind of works(excluding those households that had been supported by Danida organization)

- Households write the commitment to cooperate and assign the counterpart fund

to finish the works, especially the drilled wells However, with difficult households, oldand weak households, although they already committed, the feasibility is not highbeacause they do not have money

c) Some arising issues that need consideration:

- Although the households are very happy with the support of Oxfam, they thinkthat the support rate is not very reasonable with different works For example, the supportrate for latrines (US $ 200, about 4.2 million VND) is quite enough to build the latrinesand the beneficiary households do not need to fund more; but with the support rate (US$

100, about 2.1 million VND) for wells, the beneficiary households need to fund quite alot of money The households shared that to complete a dirlled well with the depth of 25-

30 metres and price of 3.5 million VND, the household needed to fund 1.5 million VNDmore To complete a dug well (must hire the well-digging-worker) as per the design withthe depth of 15-20 metres, it costs about 5-7 million VND per well, then the funding rate

is even higher This funding rate, to poor households in this period ( in the food insecureseason) is hardest for the poor and weak households and the households of small size It

may be better if the support rate is revised in the direction of balancing the rate for latrineand well (US$ 150 per works on average).

During the process of considering and selecting the households to get support, thecommunal management board stills considers the selection and vote of people (as per thedistrict’s criteria) but hasn’t considered deeply each household’s situation, theiradvantages, difficulties and their specific aspriations Thus, there are still unreasonablecases For example, the household of Mr Nguyen Dinh Chinh1 hamlet 9 – Ha Linh,already had a well but is still in the household that get support to build well or whilehousehold hasn’t had a filter tank yet or the household of Ms Phan Thi Hong, hamlet 8 –

Ha Linh is in the lowland area and is now may be in the list of the household who isunder other resettled projects to move to the uper land

III RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS AND, EVALUATION OF WATER QUALITY AND RECOMMEND ON APPROPRIATE SOLUTIONS

3.1 Evaluate water quality base on the results of analysis in the laboratory of water samples

a) Evaluation method: Evaluate the water quality of water samples base on results

in the laboratory test conducted by the Preventive Medical Center, Ha Tinh Province(folow to quality indicators of the Ministry of Health) and on obsevation water used foreating, drinking and daily activities

b) The general evaluation on the water quality of communes of the project:

According to the results of the analysis of water samples and the reality of thesurvey and inspection at communes, we have the following evaluation:

1) In general, the quality of the water source used currently is good, ensures thehygiene requirements to be used for eating, drinking and daily activities

2) Quatity of water sources is enought for used, except for years when there areserious droughts, the low dug wells lack of water

3) Some water samples haven’t met the quality requirement The indicators thathaven’t met the requirements are mainly iron cotamination, turbidity, pH; in places wherewater is highly iron cotamination (water color turns into yellow very clearly and makesthe curb yellow etc) However, this pollution rate is not serious, people only need to usethe common water treatment methods and then can use the water For example, if thewater is continue to be turbid, or highly iron, people can treatment by sand filter tank(filter slowly) And people need to specially pay attention to the width of sand to make itsuitable with each well Through the inspection in reality, together with the experience in

1 This household, at present already had a well of 12 meter depth, the curb is built with brick from -1 to +0.7 The family intends to use the fund to dig 3 metres more and put the water well ring According to experience, the well is being used well in the next 5 or 10 years However, the household hasn’t got the filter tank It would be better if the filter tank is built.

water treatment, the width of the materials used for filter is normally about 50-70centimetres which meets the criterion (gravel 10-20 centimetres; sand 40-50 centimetres).

5) Among the water samples analyzed, there is one sample which is ofmicrobiological infection The reason is that the well is dug near the cow stable (the well

is 3 metres far from the cow stable) This is the issue that we need to notice on guidingpeople to select the position to dig wells and to manage and maintain wells during usingthem People absolutely should not place the wells near contaminated, dirty and lowplaces such as cattle stables, places where there are stagnant water etc which can makethe wells’ water source contaminated On finding out that the water is of microbiologicalinfection, that water must be boiled before drinking (For more detail, see Annex 1)

3.2 Propose some solutions to water treatment works

On the basis of the survey results and the results of the analysis of some watersamples of the communes of Huong Khe and Vu Quang districts and on the basis of theexperience gained through reality in water treatment in Vietnam, the consultative groupsuggest some water treatment methods for contaminated water as follow:

a) Slow filter method:

This method is applied for the households whose water source is treated iron,stinking and has the yellow scum and the water is turbid, please see the structure of thefilter tank (see Figure 1) The filter system includes 2 parts, the filter tank and the storagetank Those wells which are stinking need to be treated with this method

+ The filter tank is a concrete tube with the diameter of 50-60 centimetres Insidethe tube is the material layers including: first layer is small gravel layer with the width of10-15 centimetres, the above layer is the sand layer, with the width of 45-65 centimeters,according to the water quality after filter, people can increase or reduce the width of thesand layer to make it suitable The sand taken from Ngan Sau river needs to be filtered toremove the impurities before using People can also arrange a activated charcoal layerbetween the sand layer and the gravel layer of 10-15 centimetres in width if possible Thegravels taken from rivers and springs are cleaned and people need to remove theimpurities from the gravels before putting them into the filter tank To households whosewater is highly iron, when people put the water into the tank, they should arrange for thewater to flow through the shower to increase the speed of irom oxidizing process as in theFigure 2

Figure 1 The slow fiter diagram applied in Vu Quang district

Figure 2.

+ The storage tank is used to contain water after filtering The storage tank iscasted by concrete as in the photo 9 annex 5.

The households that already had the filter tanks but the tanks were not built in a technically correct way can use this structure and adapt their tanks

b) The quick filter method:

In the flood season, when the wells and the filter tanks are submerged but peoplecannot access other clean sources, we can apply some simple water filter methods asfollow to have the water to use

 Filter by buckets, basins:

+ Prepare tools:

- Plastic or iron buckets

-Water cock (plastic water cock or self-made bamboo tube)

- Sand, gravels

+ Method:

- Carve a hole near the bucket bottom to fit a water cock

- Fasten the water cock, if it is the bamboo cock, we can use the clay to sealtightly

- Pour a gravel layer with the diameter of 5-10 mm, 25-5 cm in width on thebottom of the bucket, after that continue to pour the sand layer with the diameter

of 0.15 – 0.35mm and 15-20 cm in width on the gravel layer

Materials

1-Containing bucket 2- Sand filter layer

3- Gravel filter layer.

4- Water cock (made by bamboo or cane).

5- Basin to contain the filtered water

 Filter by filter bottom

+ Materials to make the filter bottle

- Plastic bucket or bucket with optional capacity.

- Mineral water bottom jacket (PET plastic jacket

bottom)

- Cotton or cotton net

- Charcoal or coconut shell charcoal (active coal (ie

activated carbon) is best)

- Chemicals : PAC coagulant, clorine disinfectant

+ Make the filter bottle:

- Use the plastic mineral water bottle (bottle of

500ml) and cut its bottom

- Carve the bottle cap to put a plastic tube in so that

the water can run out

- Put the filter materias as in the figure

3.3 Recommend ation on the specific solutions to treat and monitor the water quality in the affected flood areas

1 Water needs to be checked carefully before using Based on experience, water isconsidered to be clean when it is odourless and has no smell and flavour, when it is pureand not turbid, without any strange impurities, without microbe and substances that causediseases Water sources which have yellow colour and are turbid after pumping needtreatment before using such as sand filter (as per direction) Water must be boiled beforedrinking

2 During flood happening, it is necessary to stop tightly the wells to prevent thecontaminated water source from flowing into them Each household should prepare thecover to stop the wells by canvas, with the rope or rubber string to pull (do not use thewaterproof fabric, ninon beacause they are easily burt when water seep into the wells forair cannot escape)

3 To prevent the contaminated water from flowing into wells, people shouldcatche the rain water in to the wells as much as possible (from the roofs, or make thecanvas to contain rain water, except for the roof is covered by procement) and then stopcover tightly the wells This method is very simple and efficient to do

To the drilled wells, the part of the plastic tubes on the ground need to be stoppedtighly and need to have the guide piles around to prevent the floating things from hittingand breaking them

4 The water filter tanks need to have the cover In the postitions where there arepossibly strong flow and swirl, it is necessary to fix and be fastened in order to preventthem from the flood flowing.

5 The households need to prepare means and tools before the flood season toprevente of flood, for exmaple:

- Prepare tools to store water such as can, buckets, basins etc, and the tools to catchthe rain water for eating, drinking and for living activities during the flood

- Prepare materials to do the water treatment such as buckets, basins, alum,disinfectant, cover and filter tanks etc

6 After floods, it is needed to have wells treatment based on the guidance of the health sector The bestest, each family should build a filter tank as recommendation about

to ensure that enough clearn water for used, specialy immediately after flooding

FILTER TANKS AND LATRINES

4.1 Latrine works

- The design sample that the district’s project management board proposedbasically meets the technical requirements However, the foundation structure is notsuitable for there is no foundation, therefore, the sample can be easily swept away orcollapsed caused by floods It is recommended to add the foundation structure Theconsultative group already suggested revising the design and the project managementboard already listened to the recommendation and revised the design;

- The place to build/ the design of the works needs to ensure environmentalsanitation as well as create favorable conditions, and needs to be easily accessible forpeople who use it, especially women, children and old people;

- To ensure the good quality for the construction works, it is needed to mobilizethe participation of the community by conducting the training that helps them know aboutthe structure, types of materials such as cement, brick, sand and stone etc Theconsultative group complied the guiding material about monitoring community and thegroup also integrated the training on monitoring community into the workshop topopularize the results of the research on water source This method/monitoring materialshould be applied more widely in the project area;

- Because of the limited time for building, the building of the works need to becarried out simultaneously at all the targeted communes;

- Enhance the role of the commune’s relief board to and enhance the coordination

of Oxfam staff in inspecting, guiding the quality monitoring and inspecting with thehouseholds that benefit directly and contractors

4.2 Wells and filter tank

- Need to select a suitable position to dig the well, do not dig the well near thepolluted sources such as the stables and ranches to raise cattle, stagnant area etc

- In order to avoid the contaminated water to seep into the well, its base shoud beconcrete

- To the dug wells, it is needed to check the leakage of the wells’ tubes annually

- To the filter tank, after sharing comments with the Oxfam project managementboard of Vu Quang district, the design of the tank has been adapted, but the budget forbuilding each filter tanks is not changed (see Figure 1 & 2 and the illustrating photos atthe end of this report)

4.3 Organization and implementation

- With the households that dig the wells by themselves, it is necessary to warnthem about the cycle and the digging method to ensure safety during the digging process,especially for those households that reform, fix etc to prevent land slide that endangersthe life of the person who dig the well

- For some households that are too poor and cannot contribute to the fees,commune’s authorities or organizations need to find the way to help them such as givingamortized loans etc

- The consultative group has completed and meeted all the contents stated in theTOR and the outline for implementation that approved by Oxfam

- The report met all the expected outcomes The research results derived from thesurvey, water sample analysis, from reality and highly scientific experience All therecommendations of the consultative group are supported by many local authotities, socioorganizations and people

- The consultative group’s report has been very useful for the project managementboard of district and communal relief board to carry out and implement well the contents

of the project It also helps the constructions supported by Oxfam bring about the resultsthat are good, practical and beneficial for poor people and suitable with people’s livingcharacteristics The result of the implementation of the project is a good model tomultiply for other households (apart from the households that are supported) and otherhamlets and communes in the district

Recommendations: It is recommended that Oxfam enhance the inspecting and

monitoring activities to get the project completed with the right progress

The project management board of the district considers solutions to support thehouseholds that are too poor and cannot contribute more to the fees for buildingconstruction (wells).

The consultative group would like to thank Oxfam’s staff, project managementboards of districts, authorities, social organizations and people of the communes in theproject area for your the cooperation and coordination with high responsibilities, yoursupport and providing us with information during the time we conducted our tasks

On the behalf of the consultative group

Doan The Loi

Annex 1:

General information about the water sample selected to analyse

a) Samples at Huong Khe district

No Code Name of

household

Ngoc My Trung Phuong My Representative for most dug wells, after thenight there is scum on well’s surface and a

little stinking smell

Bay

Hamlet1

Phuong Dien

Representative for dug wells of hamlets 1,2,3, water after pumping turn into yellow color, has scums on the surface, the quality

is not good according to organoleptic evaluation

Hai

Hamlet10

Phuong Dien

Representative for water of wells under the hill base, low, crossing water vein, water is turbid when rains hppend, the water level isnear the ground surface, the water looks a lillte bit turbid when getting the water sample

Van Thanh

Hamlet8

Ha Linh The water of drilled water after filtering

through sand, coal and gravels (60-70cm thick) Befor treatment, water is yellow, stinking, and cannot be used immediately After filtering, the family evaluate that the quality of the water is very good

Van Kinh Tan Dinh Loc Yen Representative for dug wells which are 8-13m deep and are now being used for

eating and drinking

wells for

using

Hamlet1

Phuc Dong

Representative for wells near cultivated rice field (without curb, and is easily contaminated by the outside, especially buffalos and cows walking on the road nearby) In dry season, there are about 30 households using this well for eating, drinking and daily use

Tuan Hue

Hamlet2

Phuc Dong

Representative for the popular dug wells which are being used in the commune with the depth of 8-14m

b) Samples at Vu Quang district

Duc Lien Representative for most drilled wells, dug

wells, water has scums after being pumped and water’s smell is a little bit stinking

Toan Lien Hoa Duc Lien Water from drilled wells, dug wells, have the sign of scums and a little bit stinking

smell after filter without technically , with

5 minutes treatment duration, the depth of the sand and gravels filter layer is 30cm

Buong Hamlet10 Huong Tho Representative for the water of dug wells that are near cattle stables, but according to

direct evaluation, the quality of water is to seem good with chemical contamination

Dan Hamlet11 Huong Tho Water from the well is filtered through the sand and gravels layer of 30cm without

technically, and by observation water quality is also improved

Que

Hamlet2

An Phu Representative for the dug well of 8-12 m

in depth (popular in hamlets 1,2,3) The water is a little bit turbid, not good

Duc Giang Representatuve for surface water source

and river, spring source

on treatmentmethod (especiallyafter flood)

1

Mr.Ho Duc Ngoc,

My Trung hamlet

Phuong My

commune: dug well

Its water had scums

and slightly stinky

smell (this water

sample outnumbers

in this area)

-16/18 indicators met the

standard (passed)-2/18 did not (failed), however they are all easy

to treatment

The failed indicators are littleaffect human's health, when waterused to cook, it tends to lose the flavour of food such as the smell

of tea

- People should clarifier and expose water to thesun before using

- The best solution

is that people should filter water through slow filter tank (as recommen-ded by onsultants)before using

wells Its water

turned yellow after

being pumped up,

had

scums on the surface

-16/18 indicators passed

- 2/18 (iron contamination andflavour) failed, but easy to treatment

- 2 microbiological inticators passed but the contents are still high

The failed indictorare little

affect human's health; when waterused to cook, it tends to lose the flavour of food such as the smell

of tea

- The water should

be filtered through slow filter tank(as recommended

by consultants) before using

- Should be sterilized by Cloramin B or boiled before drinking

3 Le Van Hai,

Hamlet10, Phuong

Dien commune

Natural wells water

at the foothills - low,

cross aquifer;the

stream gets muddy

its level rises high up

- 17/18 indicators passed

- 1/18 (color) failed, but easily treated

Microorganism is found

The failed is notaffect to human's health However it makes users feel insecured

- The Water should

be filtered through slow filter tank (asrecommended

by consultants) before using

- Should be boiled before drinking

to the ground when

smell;there are sand

and coal in it with

the depth up to 60

-70 cm but skimmed

- 17/18 indicators passed

- 1/18 failed (the content of iron was a little higher than normal)

The failed indicator are little cause to human's health

-The filter tank should be repared

as recommended

by consultants

5

Nguyen Van Kinh,

Tan Dinh hamlet,

Loc Yen commune

( The water from his

well is the

main supply in the

commune)

-14/18 targets passed

- 4/18 failed, which were color, flavour

turbidity, and iron

The failed indicators are littleaffect human's health; when waterused to cook, it tends to lose the flavour of food such as the smell

of tea

- Should be filteredthrough

slow filter tank (asrecommended

by consultants) before using

6

Village's dug well,

Hamlet 1, Phuc Dong

- 2/18 failed including color, iron, but easily treament

- Signs of microorganism are found

The failed indicators are littleaffected to

human's health, however itmakes users feel insecured

- Water needs to

be clarified and treated bacteria by CloraminB

- Water must be boilded before drining

7

Nguyen Tuan Hue,

Hamlet 2,

Phuc Dong

commune: dug well

with the depth of

8-14m, this kind is

widely used among

residents

- 15/18 indicators passed

- 3/18 failed including color, turbidity and flovour and iron content

The taste isn't good If used to cook it'll lose the smell of food such

as tea

- Should be clarified and exposed to the sun before using

- Should be best filtered through theslow filter tank (as recommemded by consultants) beforeusing

II Vu Quang District

on treatmentmethod (especiallyafter flood)

1 Nguyen The Ky,

Hoi Trung hamlet,

commune : drilled

well

Its water had scum

and smelled a little

bit stinking after

being pumped up

- 15/18 indicatorpassed

- 3/18 failedincluding pH,flovour and iron

Failed indicatorsare little affect human's health, ifused to cook, thewater will lose thesmell of food such

as tea

Should be filteredthrough slow filter

recommended byconsultants) beforeusing

2

Phan Huu Toan,

Lien Hoa hamlet,

commune : both

dug

and drilled wells

The water from

those has scums

smells a little

stinking (the sand

within was filtered

but with wrong

- 2/18 failed including Nitrat (NO3-) and the stinking smell

Failed are littleaffect human'shealth

The filter should beredesigned and

recommended byconsultants)

- 2/18 indicatorsfailed are Nitrat(NO3-) and thestinking smell

contamination(evident signs ofbacteria)

Easily causingintestinal diseases;

if used to cook, thewater will lose thesmell of food such

as tea

- The water should

be filtered throughslow filter tank (asrecommended byconsultants)

together with beingexposing to the sun

- The water should

be sterilized byCloramin B orbeing boiled beforedrinking

Tran Dinh Dan, - 15/18 indicators The failed are little The filter tank

Hamlet 11, Huong

Tho; the water

from the wells was

filtered with sand

affect human'shealth; when waterused to cook, ittends to lose theflovour of food such as the smell

of tea

should be

recommended byconsultants

- 4/18 failed including color, turbidity, flovour and iron

content

- Signs of microbial contamination

Easily causingintestinal diseases;

if used to cook, thewater will lose thesmell of food such

as tea

- The water should

be filtered throughslow filter tank (asrecommended byconsultants) beforeusing

- The water should

be sterilized byCloramin B or

-1/18 indicator failed which is Nitrat (NO3-)

Well used - Try to keep the

hygiene and frequently replace the sand that's used

well - polluted and

not yet had any

treatment

- 14/18 indicators passed

- 4/18 failed including color, turbidity, flovour, iron content

Failed indicatorsare little causehuman's health, ifused to cook, the water will lose thesmell of food such

as tea's for theiron content ishigh

-The water should

be filtered throughslow filter tank (asrecommended byconsultants) beforeusing

used when the

well runs dry in

dry season

- 15/18 indicatorspassed

- 3/18 failedincluding color,Nitrat (NO3-) andiron content (but

at low level)

- Signs of bacteria

Failed targets donot affect human'shealth seriously

- The water should

be clarified in thecontaining tankbefore using

- It should also be

drinking