VietNamNet Bridge – The dissolved oxygen (DO) content in the Saigon River water is very low while the contents of ammonia, manganese, microorganism and suspended solid are getting higher, indicating that the river is being seriously polluted.

In a report to the HCMC People’s Council, Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) said that the ammonia content in the Saigon River was quite high, amounting to two milligrams per liter (mg/l).

Organic pollution in the river is getting worse as seen at the low DO content which is 2.5 times lower than the permissible level. Besides, the content of suspended solid always exceeds the national level and ranges between 16 and 120 mg per litter.

Meanwhile, according to Sawaco, the Dong Nai River is also polluted by household wastewater with its microorganism content always higher the permitted level. There are times when the ammonia content of the river amounts to 1.8 mg/l, far exceeding the permissible level.

Due to the worsening water quality, Sawaco has equipped itself with more backup chemical equipment, changed technology and used specialized filtering materials to treat pollutants to ensure that the water quality meet the standard and can be supplied for local people.

Pollution in the Saigon and Dong Nai rivers has been foreseen for many years as the two rivers have to receive hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of untreated industrial, household and farming wastewater.

However, according to the report of Sawaco, water pollution has not been improved. Pollution keeps getting worse while solutions are too slow.

Sawaco said that if pollution and salinity in the rivers continued rising, the water supply would be in trouble with unexpected and serious consequences.

* The HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment will close 24 waste transit stations failing to meet environmental criteria, besides upgrading 13 stations and downscaling eight others, said a city’s official.

The information was given by Nguyen Van Phuoc, deputy director of the city’s environment department, at the “Listening and Exchanging” program which was aired live by HCMC Television Station on Sunday.

The city now has a total of 48 waste transit stations, with up to 45 facilities polluting nearby residential areas with bad smell. Removing 24 polluting stations will be completed before next month while 13 stations will be upgraded before the end of November. Sixteen facilities will be closely monitored to ensure that they will now cause environmental pollution from now until 2015 when they are set to be removed.

At the aforesaid program, many residents in Cu Chi District complained to local relevant authorities the environmental pollution caused by a nearby 36-hectare waste treatment plant. Wastewater discharged from the plant has polluted underground water sources in the outlying district while most locals are still using well water there.

Similarly, residents in Binh Chanh reported that they had had to struggle with the disgusting smell sent out by Binh Hung wastewater treatment plant in the district since 2011.

Source: SGT