The rivers are about to die!

For developing countries like Vietnam, the most worrying thing is the environment. Because of the immediate benefits, people have been easy-going and rubbing with potential risks that in the very near future will cost very much .

Yesterday 12 April, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment published the Vietnam environmental report in 2006, focusing on the situation of the three basins of Cau, Nhue - Day and Dong Nai river systems. Reading the findings, Helene B. Jordans, an adviser to DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency), said: 'Once I looked down at the canals in Ho Chi Minh City, I self asked if they were 'dead'. Now the data has proved it to be true '.

Thai Nguyen is standing with Cau River

Provinces related to Cau River basin include Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Hanoi. Population density 427 people / km ² (twice higher than the national average density), there are 800 industrial production establishments, 200 craft villages and 1,200 medical facilities.

Ship anchored on the Saigon River heavily polluted a section of this river (Photo: NCT)

In the provinces where Cau River passes, Thai Nguyen is clearly polluted, especially the river section that runs through the city. River water is cloudy, black-brown and stinking. Industrial production is the main culprit. The waste water of Hoang Van Thu Paper Factory is located right in the city and discharged directly into small branches leading to Cau River, including inorganic pollutants, uneasy fiber and high alkalinity. Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Industrial Zone flows into this river with a flow of about 1.3 million m3 / year and ' gifted ' to the river with many toxic pollutants such as grease, phenol and cyanure.

In addition to industrial production, agricultural activities also contribute to serious pollution. Cau River Basin receives at least 180,000 tons of chemical fertilizers and 1,500 tons of pesticides per year!

Domestic wastewater is harmful to Nhue - Day river

Nhue - Day River relates to Hanoi, Ha Tay, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh and Nam Dinh. Population density is 874 people / km ² . There are more than 4,000 industrial production facilities, 458 trade villages and 1,400 medical facilities.

In the Nhue - Day river basin, the report states that Hanoi urban rivers are seriously polluted when all measured parameters exceed the permitted standards. Other rivers in this basin such as Chau Giang, Tich, Hoang Long and Dao rivers are all polluted. The pollution characteristic of this river basin is that domestic wastewater contributes the largest proportion, in which Hanoi city contributes 54% of the total domestic wastewater in the basin.

Garbage at the foot of To Lich river bridge (Hanoi) (Documentary photo)

Industry & aquaculture ' kill ' Dong Nai river

The Dong Nai river system affects Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Long An. Population density 269 people / km ² . There are more than 9,000 industrial production facilities, 491 craft villages and 1,633 medical facilities.

Due to spreading in many provinces, the Dong Nai river system is affected at the same time from many sources, so the downstream part of many rivers in the basin has been seriously polluted, even some have become dead river.

Dong Nai river water, the section from Thien Tan Water Plant to Long Dai has lead content exceeding the permitted standard. The Saigon River system is mainly contaminated with organic matter with signs of heavy metal pollution in some places. Water quality of other rivers such as Be River, Da Nhim - Da Dung and Vam Co, water in ponds and canals in the basin . are seriously polluted. The most serious is that Thi Vai River has a dead section stretching from behind the confluence of Ca River - Dong Nai to My Xuan Industrial Park. The main agents causing water pollution in the basin are wastewater from industrial production facilities and industrial parks and export processing zones. Most of them discharge directly into water sources. Another characteristic of pollutants is aquaculture in the basin.

* Since the five-year plan (2006-2010 period), besides the economic and social indicators system, there will always be an environmental indicator system.And according to the regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, every five years, there must be a report on the general environmental status and each year there must be a specialized report.

* Ms. Helene B.Jordans (DANIDA): 'Preventing pollution is always cheaper to clean up the consequences of pollution'.

* Ms. Nguyen Hoi Chan - World Bank's national director (World Bank): 'In Vietnamese, water and river are an important part of the country. The protection and sustainable use of water resources are not only important for the development of the country but also for the Vietnamese people '.

HUONG GIANG