Hen Srey Pheak was hit by a water shortage in her flat, causing her to spend 20,000 to 30,000 riels from private sellers in her borey in Phnom Penh’s Chhouk Va 1 commune.
Srey Pheak, 30, a grocery seller, is part of wider families in the capital city who have faced water shortages in recent days during the dry season. She has lived in her borey for nearly three years, leaving her countryside hometown for the city for a better life.
She said water shortages are common every dry season and sometimes authorities deliver water to homes that are the most affected. However, for her, this has not happened and she paid between 20,000 and 30,000 riels for water last week from private sellers in the borey.
Families interviewed by Kiripost urged authorities to find solutions as soon as possible because without enough water, things are difficult.
“We only get three to four tanks of water. We need to cook, clean, and take a bath. I have five members. Can you imagine?” Srey Pheak told Kiripost. She urged the government to accelerate actions to resolve the shortage.
Toch Makara, 30, who lives at Borey Chouk Va II, said she had a similar challenging water shortage, which this year has already happened for more than the last two years.
“I think we will face it from this month until May in the dry season, sometimes during the day, we turn it on and there is no water but at midnight, when everyone stops using the water, we have a little bit of it so we have one to two tanks of water per day," Makara said.
“When we don’t have water, we need to spend some money to buy from outside, so I need to spend double the money while my income is not stable,” he added.
He said he is also waiting for a solution from Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) to resolve the shortage and hopes that after May, people will have enough water.
Yong Kim Eng, president of the People's Centre for Development and Peace, said that people are not happy when they do not have enough water to use. This can affect their business and livelihood.
He added that the water shortage occurred a few years ago and there should have been a solution. Moreover, the government should have a balanced calculation of water demand to avoid shortages in the future, he said.
“Should (PPWSA) clarify to the people when it can be resolved and how long will that solution take? Are there any plans to have clean water tanks to distribute to people in some areas?," Kim Eng told Kiripost.
He urged authorities to show specific plans and commitments so that people can be reassured.
Met Meas Pheakdey, a spokesman for Phnom Penh City Hall, told Kiripost on Tuesday that because water is controlled by PPWSA, who has professionals, it will resolve the issue according to its announcement so that people can have enough water.
He added that they have already learned how to make reservoirs to supply water and he was unable to provide further details.
“I cannot give specific solutions because it’s in their control, but what we see nowadays is that along some districts, they distribute water to people, that is what we see first,” Pheakdey said.
PPWSA has also urged people in Phnom Penh and Takhmao to save and share water with others, especially people living in the suburbs, hoping that from May, an investment to build a new water treatment plant will help to provide enough water for people to use.
