"Bunong families claim Lower Sesan II dam is causing water shortage", 4 December 2018

More than 100 families, including Bunong ethnic community members who have been impacted by the Lower Sesan II dam in Stung Treng province, complained … about the shortage of clean water.

The villagers, who have rejected compensation for relocation and currently live on higher ground about 5km from their now-flooded villages in Sesan district’s Kbal Romeas commune, said a pond dug by the provincial authority in the area has not produced any water.

Srang Lanh, a representative of the families, told … that water in the dam’s reservoir is not clean enough for consumption. He said the water is smelly and could be harmful to villagers’ health, while rainwater has also run out…

Another villager, Khem Chamroeun, said the villagers currently rely on water from a well on an old rice field about 1km from their makeshift homes…

Provincial and Sesan district authorities could not be reached for comment…