VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi authorities have once again shown their strong determination to treat the polluted To Lich River after many failed treatment campaigns. 

 

Eberhard Van der Laan, mayor of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, at a meeting with Hanoi’s Mayor Nguyen The Thao some days ago, said Amsterdam was willing to help Hanoi improve the environment of the To Lich polluted river.

To Lich River is a ‘hot spot’ of Hanoi because of its serious pollution. Hanoi authorities have many times tried to upgrade the river, but no significant results have been made.

More recently, the city has implemented a project on growing aquatic plants to clean the river. 

However, as waste water continues flowing to the river every day, the cause of the pollution cannot be settled. 

IRARD, an institute for rural development, suggested using chemicals to clean To Lich’s river. Under the suggested project, chemicals would be sprayed on the river which would quickly clean the water. In one or two days it would be pure.

One month later, an embankment would be built to prevent waste water from entering To Lich and creating a new stream, according to the proposal.

In September 2009, the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and the Environment submitted a plan to implement a series of projects to settle pollution with the estimated cost of VND1.329 trillion. Under the plan, the Red River’s water would be pumped to To Lich to solve the pollution there. 

However, experts doubt that To Lich’s problems can be settled.

Dr. Nguyen Phu Tuan, director of Green Company in Hoa Lac High-tech Park, said that no technology could settle the pollution under the current conditions.

“It will be very difficult to treat the pollution because wastewater flows into the river. We cannot settle the pollution of the lakes in Hanoi, let alone the river,” Tuan said.

He went on to say that many other rivers in Vietnam are facing the same problem as To Lich. As the rivers contain waste water, it is very difficult to clean them, even if big money is spent.

“What we can do is just reduce the pollution of To Lich. It is impossible to make the river clean enough to satisfy some certain environmental standards. No technology, foreign and domestic, will be able to do this,” he said.

Regarding the solution of growing aquatic plants to clean water, Tuan said this is a reasonable solution, provided that the growth is implemented on a large scale. The solution will not help with a modest number of plants.

To Lich’s pollution has seriously affected underground water in Hanoi, while underground water satisfies 80-85 percent of demand.

Dat Viet