VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of households living along Khe Can Channel in central Da Nang City have been complaining about the foul odour emitting from the polluted channel.

Part of Khe Can Channel in central Da Nang City is polluted, emitting a foul odour. — Photo dantri.com.vn

Khe Can Channel runs through Hoa An Commune of Cam Le District and Thanh Khe Tay Commune of Thanh Khe District. Only 1,500m of the channel runs into a sewer system. The remaining portion containing the black waste water and domestic waste does not have a sewer facility, exposing those living nearby to serious pollution hazards.

Nguyen Huong, a resident living along Khe Can Channel, told dantri.com.vn that she had to keep her doors closed always to avoid the foul smell.

The smell is unbearable, she said.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, a resident living near Phu Loc River, said the waste water ran through the channel to Phu Loc River, polluting the river, especially during hot summer days when the river water dried up.

Hanh said she used to run a street food stall earlier, but had to shut it down soon, as the smell had driven away her customers.

Pham Van Cuong, another resident, said that massive fish deaths had occurred earlier. He said a large amount of mud and domestic waste had accumulated in the channel, and local authorities should work with authorised agencies to dredge the channel to reduce the pollution.

Mai Ma, director of the Da Nang Wastewater and Drainage Company, said the company had set up a plan to clean the channel.

Specifically, the wastewater from the channel from Yen The, Bac Son, Hong Thai and Tan Trao roads would be collected and sent to Phu Loc Wastewater Treatment Station to be treated, before discharging it into the environment.

The company will also implement measures such as building mineral deodorising tanks and installing automatic odour reducing machines to reduce the bad odour.

Hong Vinh Hien, deputy director of the managing board of the city’s infrastructure construction projects, said some 1,500m of sewer was built along Khe Can channel since August 2016. The remaining 500m stretch has not been completed due to slow site clearance and compensation for affected people.

Hien said the project would be continued when the site clearance work is completed. As planned, the project will be finished by the end of this year, he added.

Source: VNS