Complaints have continued about the waste water discharged directly onto Danang City’s beaches.

At some places, the waste water has completely washed away the sand, creating a smelly stream heading straight to the sea.

Beaches including My An, My Khe, Man Thai and Tho Quang have as many as 16 discharge locations. As the result, the number of tourists has dwindled. Visitors can't enjoy the scenery because of the smell and a walk along the beach proves to be difficult as the waste water runs across it.

Hoang Anh Tuan, a visitor from Hanoi said his family often visited Danang during summer. However, he didn't dare to let his children go this year because of pollution. Hau, another visitor from Ninh Binh Province said the water at My An Beach last year was much clearer. Now she can't bathe.

"If this continues, people will never return to Danang," she said.

Nguyen Quoc Quang, a local in Tho Quang Ward, said recently, he always felt itchy after being under water for too long. Many locals also stopped going out to the beach because of the pollution and hope that the local authorities will deal with it soon.

According to Mai Ma, head of Danang Drainage and Waste Water Treatment Company, four waste water treatment plants including Phu Loc, Son Tra, Ngu Hanh Son and Hoa Cuong had been built since 2000 in a waste treatment project. However, they are only able to deal with nine discharge locations.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment allowed the company to store the waste water inside the sewer during peak hours.

"It was fine during the first years. But as more hotels and restaurants are built on Truong Sa, Hoang Sa and Vo Nguyen Giap streets, it is overloaded. Now the water overflows even though it isn't raining," he said. 

The beaches are ripped apart after the heavy rains last month and thousands of cubic metres of sands are washed away. The company tried to fill the streams and deal with the smell. In the coming time, the city will improve the waste treatment system.

Some photos of the beaches in Danang which have been polluted by waste water discharge:

Dtinews