http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/water-05072014185021.html

Lao Villagers Complain Drinking Water Contaminated by Pesticides

Residents of at least six villages in northern Laos are getting sick from drinking water they believe has been contaminated by residue of pesticides and weed-killers, confronting nearby farms for overuse of the chemicals, local sources said.

The ethnic minority villagers in mountainous Oudomxay province’s Beng district have sought the urgent intervention of local authorities after the confrontation raised tensions in the area.

But an agriculture official said there was little the government could do to control use of pesticides and weed-killers, which have polluted the local creeks and streams the villagers rely on for drinking water.

Residents affected by the pollution are from the district’s Napa, Tameun, Khoksa-Ad, Patong, Huai Lor and Phiahuanam areas, a villager said.

Quarrels

After villagers began getting diarrhea on consuming the water, some of them confronted farmers living upstream about their complaint, getting into quarrels with them, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The farmers use too much pesticide without knowledge [of its effects],” he told RFA’s Lao Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Now villagers are facing hardship and there have been conflicts because of this. We could not discuss it [with them]; they don’t listen and we don’t know what to do.”

The villagers have no access to tap or well water and normally rely on local creeks and streams for drinking water, he said.

“Our drinking water comes every day from creeks,” he said, adding that villagers wanted authorities to help keep their water clean.

Banned substances

A local Department of Agriculture and Forestry said weed killers and pesticides were widely used by farmers in Oudomxay, including ones made of banned substances.

“There are a lot in our villages because … when the (weed killers) are brought in, there are some people who use them in secret and we’re not able to regulate it.”

He said the department had not sent officials to investigate the complaints from the Beng villagers, but were aware that farmers in the area use pesticides and weed killers to grow rice and other crops.

According to government statistics, 64 percent of people in rural communities had improved sources of drinking water in 2012, compared to 88 percent in urban areas.

Laos’s government has pledged to halve the proportion of people without year-round access to safe drinking water by 2015, according to the Vientiane Times.

do take precautions when travelling around Oudomxay province and other sino-lao border provinces.do carry a compact portable water filter.

will water filters remove the chemicals they use in pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers?

will water filters remove the chemicals they use in pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers?

I don't think so.

do take precautions when travelling around Oudomxay province and other sino-lao border provinces.do carry a compact portable water filter.

obviously you have never been there

are u working in lao rural farm still or just as western naive tourists or student?you still have illusion with lao comies, thinks laos as shangrila...

pls do some voluntary work in lao rural farm living with poor laos, you'll understand more.

can you donate for rural laos medical cares?many laos got sickness from pollutions, no treatment at all, can you help pls?

That's awful. I suspect this is more widespread that what is known.

do take precautions when travelling around Oudomxay province and other sino-lao border provinces.do carry a compact portable water filter.

I would suggest that you only drink bottled water in all of Laos. Here in Vang Vieng the tap water is oftem brown in colour, as far as I am aware they have no water treatment plant here drawing from a reservoir and the local river.

portable water filter bottle 's more environmentally friendly, just load brown tap water or water from well, more fresh and healthy than bottled water(which's often stored too long, not fresh,)..

available from decathlon shop worldwide:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/filtering-06l-water-bottle-hiking-and-camping-water-bottles-and-flasks-camelback-blue-id_8177360.html

http://www.decathlon.nl/msh-water-filter-by-katadyn-id_8283837.html

http://inhabitat.com/portable-water-filter-alter-ego-is-stylish-alternative-to-buying-bottled-water/

consuming bottled water, how many plastics bottles are u going to throw to environment

do take precautions when travelling around Oudomxay province and other sino-lao border provinces.do carry a compact portable water filter.

I would suggest that you only drink bottled water in all of Laos. Here in Vang Vieng the tap water is oftem brown in colour, as far as I am aware they have no water treatment plant here drawing from a reservoir and the local river.