Hanoi citizens forced to skip washing amid water shortage

"Our kitchen ware remains clean when we remove the wrap after eating," said Hoa, 40. "But we don’t know how much longer we can go this way, since we cannot wrap our cookware to cook [and we cannot order meals from outside forever]," she said.

Hoa’s family wraps their bowls, plates, and chopsticks on Oct. 15, 2023 before eating in order avoid cleaning them because their apartment complex has no water. Photo courtesy of Hoa

Complaints about chemical-smelling water and then a full-on lack of water at the urban area, which is home to an estimated 16,000 tenants, emerged at the beginning of the month. Several residents have also reported severe allergies after using the water they used to have at home, prompting authorities to take a water sample for chemical testing.

The Institute of Environmental Technology subsequently announced on Oct. 10 that the ammonium level in the water sample stood at 11.46 mg per liter, 38 times higher than acceptable levels. The chloride level was also tens of times higher than regulated.

The Thanh Ha Fresh Water Joint Stock Company, the urban complex’s water supplier, has said that there was a change in their water source and the firm thus has not had enough time to properly process biochemical levels in the water.

The company then suspended supplying water to several apartment complexes in Hanoi on Oct. 14, leaving tens of thousands of Thanh Ha residents without any water for days so far.

Authorities then sent a water distribution van to the urban area as an emergency replacement. However, each person is only able to take a meager amount of water each visit, so Hoa has ordered everyone in her family to save water by using only a single cup of water each for their daily needs.

But such solutions have been entirely inefficient for many, especially those with special needs like Hoa. Her 70-year-old mother suffers gastrointestinal problems that take her to the restroom frequently, so Hoa had to take leave from her office job to queue at the water van all day and gather as much as water as she can.

Residents at the Thanh Ha urban area queue at the water distributing van on Oct. 16, 2023. Photo courtesy of Hoa

Thanh Binh, 36, has imposed strict water use orders on his family as well. The water he gets from the water distribution van is first used for personal hygiene purposes and kitchen use. His family then recycles this water for their plants and to clean the floors. The whole family has had to use wet tissues to clean their bodies instead of taking showers for the past few days, and they have to wash their dishes with water they collect from their air-conditioner.

"Ii things do not improve in a few days, I have no other choice than bringing my kids to my acquaintance’s place so they can shower there," Binh said.

Duc Hung, 30, another resident of the same complex, bought five 20-liter bottles on Oct. 16. He brought the bottles to his relative’s house and stored the water there. He can accumulate enough water to use for one day after five trips back and forth to his relative’s home.

"We pay the fresh water company on time, but we get only foul-smelling, contaminated water in return," he said. "We have complained many times but nothing has changed, and now we have no water. Our lives here, in the capital, are even worse than lives in remote areas."

Phan Minh Chau, head of the local neighborhood committee, said tens of thousands of residents in the urban area have been suffering from the water cuts since Oct. 14.

"Some had to return to their hometowns, and some asked for water from their relatives’ houses," he said. "Even the elderly have to queue [at the water van] to get water."

Many families in the urban area eventually began raising a mutually shared fund to buy clean water for their communal usage as a temporary resolution.

Residents at the Thanh Ha urban area cover their pickup truck with plastic bags before collecting water elsewhere and distributing it to fellow residents on Oct. 15, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Vu Ngoc Quyet, a resident of a neighborhood located three kilometers from Thanh Ha, joined five other neighbors to announce on social media that they could provide those in need with fresh water from their water tanks. They have been contacted by droves of waterless citizens since the post.

"I don’t mind giving those in need water from my family’s tank," Quyet said. "My only concern is the distance. It would be better if they could send a truck to my house and collect the water."

His concern seems to be proved, as in fact, not everyone can travel the distances needed to collect water. Hoa’s family does not have a car, so she has to spend a lot of time and effort carrying containers of water in her arms. She considered renting a room in a hotel nearby for her family to stay temporarily, but as her kids are attending schools in the complex, she decided against it.

"My whole family is waiting for the water supply to resume," she said. "That’s the only way for our lives to be back to normal."

Local authorities announced on Oct. 16 that water supply had resumed, though "in small portions" and the supply has "not yet been able to go to each household."

"I don’t know when we can get the neighborhood’s tank full with the current water supply," Chau said. "Meanwhile, the number of residents queuing at the water distribution van is rising."