Experience from the Development of Waterhole Model in Cam Chau and Cam Tam Communes, Cam Thuy District, Thanh Hoa Province

Currently, there are 496 rural water projects in Thanh Hoa province, of which only 213 (43%) operates sustainably. This implies shortcomings in the management, exploitation and usage of rural water resources, which could be caused by the following reasons: the scattered settlement of rural people, complex terrain preventing a centralized water supply; weaknesses in clean water management (lacking inspection and monitoring of local government, departments and people). Therefore, it is essential to develop a model that could both provide a solution of sustainable and efficient exploitation and usage of water resources, and meet the requirements of the National Target Programmes on Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, and New Rural Development.

The waterhole exploitation and usage model in Cam Chau and Cam Tam – combined with other models such as equal-level drainage model, forestation, beef cattle breeding, building sewage under Coc dam, and aquaculture – with the objective to mitigate droughts and water shortage; prevent flash floods; and improve people’s livelihoods. These models were under the biodiversity and climate change categories, for which the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Fund (GEF SGP) provides financial aids in 5-year cycles, as well as priorities of the Government of Viet Nam for GEF funds during 2011-2015.

In order to develop the model, the project has conducted surveying, design, operation management, monitoring and evaluation, with the participation of local people. As a result, 86 households from Cam Chau and Cam Tam participated in the model, with 391 direct beneficiaries, including 70% ethnic Dao and 30% ethnic Muong. A total of 19 intermediate feeder tanks were constructed, with 28,950 meters of pipes from the waterhole to the feeder tanks, and 4,811 meters of pipes from the feeder tanks to the household tanks.