Water in the Cai Lon River in Hau Giang Province, southern Vietnam, has turned blackish in recent days. Photo by VnExpress/Thuan An
Sugar factory accused of discharging untreated effluent; seafood farms on the Cai Lon River hit hard. Severe pollution in southern Vietnam has caused water in a river in the Mekong Delta to turn black, killing fish and other marine life.
Residents living near the Cai Lon River in Hau Giang Province claim that a sugar factory located by the river has been discharging untreated effluent, VNExpress reported.
Water in the river has turned black as a result and is also spreading foul smell.
Local authorities said they have taken samples of the polluted water to determine the cause and will take action accordingly.
Long My Town resident Pham Thi Thuy Linh, 35, said the water has been pitch black for 10 days and is only getting worse. Almost all of the fish, shrimp and frogs being farmed by nearby households had been killed by the polluted water, he said.
The Cai Lon River is the key source of water in Long My Town. A water treatment plant in the neighborhood uses about 4,000 cubic meters from the river to provide water for 6,000 families in the town.
However, the river has become so polluted that the plant is now extracting water from artesian basins under the ground instead.
The waters of the Mekong Delta are seriously polluted, says Vietnam’s Environmental Agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. Pangasius aquaculture is part of the problem.
According to a report on VietNamBridge, the content of E. coli bacteria in the delta’s rivers and canals is two to five times the level permitted. The pollution is due in part to the expansion of rice fields from 3.2 million hectares in 1995 to 3.9 million hectares this year and the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides.
Another reason is pond expansion to grow pangasius (basa and tra). According to the news report, water surface area used to raise the fish has expanded from 200,000 hectares in 1995 to more than 700,000 hectares today.
Citing the Institute for Aquatic Economics and Planning, the report says aquaculture in the Mekong Delta results in nearly 500 million cubic meters of mud and waste annually, including more than 2 million metric tons from tra and basa farming.
Asia Time/ VNExpress/ Vietnamnet, inputed by Vietnam Insider