VietNamNet Bridge – Rivers and canals in Ca Mau City in the southernmost province of Ca Mau are being seriously polluted by waste water discharged by industries and households.

Houses built half on land, half on the river in Ca Mau City are partly responsible for polluting the waterways while untreated waste water discharged by industries into canals and rivers is also having a serious effect.

The Ca Mau – Bac Lieu Canal, which runs around 5km long along National Highway 1A from the city's gateway to its central area, is polluted by more than 10 seafood processors, according to Nguoi Lao Dong (the Labourer) newspaper.

Many shops, including some that sell fuel and construction materials and repair boats, also dump waste into it.

People living near the canal say it has become so seriously polluted in recent years that no fish can live in it.

They are also afraid of swimming in the canal because of its pollution.

The section of the Ganh Hao River that runs through the Seafood Export and Processing Zone in Ward 8 is black in colour.

Truong Van Kha, who lives along this section, says: "There were times when the water turned black as ink." Many seafood processors are situated in the city centre and release their untreated waste water directly into rivers and canals.

Most of the processors and other factories have treatment facilities but they are only operated when officials arrive to inspect them.

Local officials admitted that seafood processors discharge untreated effluents into rivers and say this was carried out to save cost.

Tran Kieu Danh, deputy head of the city's Environment and Natural Resources Bureau, said: "Before inspecting factories, authorities have to inform them, making it hard to detect their violations, implying that this gives them time to cover their tracks."

However, last year 69 out of 112 small establishments that were inspected were found violating environmental protection regulations, according to the bureau.

Of the 69, 14 have been penalised and the rest were warned.

"Pollution caused by domestic waste is also a problem. The city has around 2,000 families living along rivers and canals, and they throw about up to five tonnes of waste into the water bodies every day," the bureau said. The nearly 150,000 boats that ply them throw another five to six tonnes of rubbish besides leaking fuel.

The Ca Mau Urban Project and Water Supply and Drainage Company is forced to have a fleet of boats operating around the clock to collect all this waste.

The boats collect around 10 tonnes of waste every day.

Source: VNS