VietNamNet Bridge – The first automatic sewage testing station in the country was inaugurated in the southern province of Binh Duong on Tuesday to monitor effluent discharged from industrial zones in the province. The station cost VND28 billion (US$1.4 million) to be built.

According to the Binh Duong Department of Natural Resources and Environment, automatic sewage testing equipment will be installed in six industrial zones – Viet Nam-Singapore, Dong An, Viet Huong No 1, Song Than No 1 and Song Than No 2.

The department has also named 15 enterprises that will have to get automatic waste testing equipment so that environmental officials can monitor discharges around the clock. It has installed cameras to observe waste discharges in those places. The cameras are connected to the control station, which is managed by department inspectors, who will be able to monitor the process and take waters samples automatically.

"The automatic station will help reduce the number of enterprises setting up waste water treatment systems just to satisfy the demands of inspectors, and fail to operate and maintain them properly," said Nguyen Van Kiem, the department's deputy director.

It also helps reduce inspectors' time and effort as they can now check sewage output continuously without having to make personal visits, he said.

The department plans to propose that the provincial People's Committee give technical guidance to firms on how to install automatic sewage testing systems.

It will ask 50 further enterprises, which discharge a lot of waste water, to install the testing equipment.

With the automatic sewage testing station, the province expected to be able to closely monitor 60 per cent of all waste water being discharged by firms, Kiem said.

Each day, 28 industrial zones in the province discharge about 49,000cu.m. of waste water, according to the provincial department.

All enterprises in the province have had waste treatment facilities, but illegal discharges still occured because inspectors had to make site visits, Kiem said.

In January this year, the provincial authority fined 68 enterprises a total of VND3 billion (US$150,000) for discharging untreated waste water.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News