Laos villagers revive water access after drought
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In Pakouay, a village in southern Laos, residents faced a critical water shortage as 15 of 18 wells stopped working.
Many of the 154 families relied on seasonal streams and shallow water sources that diminished and required long journeys to find. Researchers and technicians from Laos, working with the Global Environment Facility-UNDP, installed two new wells reaching 35 meters deep, along with two 2,000-liter tanks.
The project, funded with $50,000, also created a large basin capable of holding over 18 million liters of rainwater. Before the improvements, people used between 10 and 15 liters of water per person each day for all needs, drinking, cooking, and cleaning, a figure close to the minimum 15 liters per day recommended by the World Health Organization even in emergency situations. Only 43 families could regularly afford to buy commercially bottled water, leaving others dependent on less reliable sources.
The new infrastructure provides a more stable water supply for the village’s 749 residents and supports local agriculture, which previously suffered from drought and poor soil. The basin, measuring 60 by 120 meters, collects rainwater and runoff, offering a resource for irrigation during dry periods. Local community groups have been established to manage and maintain the new system, along with a community fund to cover future costs, but long-term monitoring is needed to assess the system’s sustainability and water quality.
