Clean Drinking Water Scarce in Delta

By VIOLET CHO

International humanitarian organizations and opposition groups working with cyclone-affected communities in the Irrawaddy delta have grave concerns about the access to clean drinking water following the end of the rainy season.

As dry season approaches in the next few weeks in Burma, sufficient clean drinking water will become a major challenge, according to the National League for Democracy Cyclone Relief Committee.

“We have deep concerns for those people who live near seawater,” said Ohn Kyaing, chairperson of the NLD relief committee. “It will be a big problem for the communities that live close to the sea because they depend mainly on lakes and ponds which filled up with salt water during the cyclone in early May.”

Ohn Kyaing, who recently visited the Irrawaddy delta, said many NGOs in the area are now focusing their efforts on cleaning up contaminated ponds so they can again provide fresh water.

“We have cleaned more than 200 ponds and lakes in Laputta Township, and people there are very happy,” Ohn Kyaing said. “Now we plan to dig about 40 wells in Bogalay Township.”

With the help of local NLD members, the relief committee has projects underway in areas of Bogalay, Mawlamyinegyunn, Laputta and Ngaputaw townships.

A local relief worker in Laputta said most villagers now have enough food to eat, but many will face a lack of clean water starting in October.

“Although there are some lakes and ponds which have been purified, many still can not be used. Many refugees are still relying on rainwater for drinking water and now they are sharing water because rain is decreasing,” he said.

He said local military authorities are also aware of the water problem.

Officials with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also voiced concern about a shortage of water during a briefing in early September.

“Despite ongoing efforts to pump contaminated water out of ponds, there is a risk that not all of them can be cleaned and refilled before the beginning of the dry season,” said Ramesh Shrestha, a UNICEF official, according to The Myanmar Times.

“It is crucial to identify high risk areas with potential water shortage now and to work closely with the government, communities and our partner agencies to avoid severe water shortages in the coming months,” he was quoted as saying.

UNICEF has set up temporary mobile water treatment plants and distributed tanks that can store large supplies of water, according to the Times. UNICEF has so far cleaned up 442 ponds in the delta area, officials said.