HCM City (VNA) - More than 2,000 canals around HCM City have been seriously pollutedthreatening people’s health, reported the Nong Thon Ngay Nay (CountrysideToday) newspaper.

The pollution of canalsin the city has been worsening as large quantities of household and industrialwastewater, as well as rubbish, are being discharged or dumped into canals,according to the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

For years, residents inHiep Phu Ward of District 9 have suffered the foul smell from Binh Tho Canal.

“Like all people in thearea, I have to close my doors and windows day and night to avoid the smellfrom the canal”, Nguyen Thi Tiem told the newspaper.

The canal is about 2kmlong running through the district and discharging wastewater to the Sai GonRiver.

According to themunicipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DoNRE), there arenine industrial zones and five garment, cloth dyeing, footwear and fertiliserbusinesses in the district. The wastewater discharged by the businesses was oneof the reasons for the pollution.

Canals running throughthe districts 7 and 8 have been severely polluted for years.

The smell from the blackwater has been poisoning local people’s health.

“In the past, the canalwater was so clear that children could fish, swim and play in the canal”, saidNguyen Van Dung, a resident.

“But now the canal isfull of rubbish making the water dark black and terrible smelling”, hesaid.  

A rapid increase inpopulation, a lack of public awareness about environmental protection, anddrainage of rainwater and wastewater into the same systems has contributed tothe pollution.

Wastewater fromhouseholds and industrial production is not being treated or is being treatedimproperly, according to the department.

The department said thecanals were also being polluted by large amounts of waste from neighbouringprovinces.

The Nhum – Xuan Truongand Cai springs and Ba Bo Canal, for example, receive a large quantity of wastefrom households and industries in Binh Duong province.

Similarly, Thay Cai – AnHa canals receive waste from households and industries in Long An province.

DoNRE deputy directorNguyen Thi Thanh My said the department would inspect production establishmentsthat release wastewater into canals, especially in pollution hot spots.

The production workshopswould be required to build a wastewater treatment facility and operateaccording to regulations, she said.

Enterprises withwastewater treatment facilities that release more than 1,000cu.m of wastewatera day must use an automatic wastewater monitoring system. Data from the systemwill be sent to the department.

Enterprises thatcontinue to pollute will have to relocate or cease operations.

The department has alsoworked with neighbouring provinces to draw up regulations to control wastewaterdischarge from enterprises near the city’s borders.

Nguyen Ngoc Cong,director of the city’s Steering Centre of Urban Flood Control Programme, saidthe flooding at Kinh Duong Vuong Street would continue as water drainagesystems along the street were being affected by housing encroaching on theland.

The drains that carrywater to Le Cong Phep, Ba Tieng and Nhay canals are blocked.

Ba Tieng Canal, forexample, is blocked by rubbish, even though the steering centre dredged thecanal.

In Binh Tan district,three canals, a water drainage gate, a water drainage sewer and six manholeshave all been affected by illegally built housing, the centre reported.

In Tan Phu district, twowater drains and six manholes were affected as well.

Cong told agencies todredge blocked canals and relocate households that are illegally built nearcanals in Binh Tan and Tan Phu.

He also told districtsto launch a campaign to educate local residents about the environmental damagecaused by throwing rubbish into canals.  

In Binh Tan, a projectworth 800 billion VND (36 million USD) to upgrade more than 3.5km of Kinh DuongVuong Street to prevent flooding was completed last year, according to theSteering Centre of Urban Flood Control Programme.

This year, the municipalauthority has continued to carry our several projects on canal pollution, Mysaid.

The projects includebuilding wastewater treatment factories such as Tham Luong-Ben Cat Factory withcapacity of 131,000cu.m per day; Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Factory with capacity of480,000cu.m per day; and upgrading treatment capacity of Binh Hung Factory to141,000cu.m to 469,000cu.m per day.

Dredging canals andcollecting rubbish will also be implemented during the year, she said.-VNA