A canal in the northern province of Bac Giang could soon run dry as a result of excessive pollution.
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| The canal could soon dry |
The 3-km Liem Xuyen Canal, currently providing water to thousands of hectares of rice paddy, has been facing serious problems since 2003 because Bac Ha Paper Company has been dumping its untreated waste into the stream for years.
Village 7, in Tang Tien Commune, Viet Yen District, is among regions most affected by this pollution. The canal runs by around 500 households, or 2,000 people; the water is black with filth.
Reporters have recently witnessed locals of the area gathering up dead fish and struggling to dredge their connecting drains in order to protect their homes.
One local, Nguyen Huy Duc, complained that the pollution from this water source has adversely affected the soil, cutting rice production. He says this has been going on for years.
Ground water in the area has also been contaminated, causing many residents to fill them in and rely on whatever rain water they can collect. Although most residents still rely on the clean water from the water treatment centre, there is also evidence of contamination in the water supply there.
DTiNews has observed three waste water discharge pipes from the company. Two of them don’t seem to function, but the other releases black, brackish liquid directly into the canal, which poses an apparently obvious harm to any person or creature in the vicinity.
Giap Tuan Tho, an official from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said, in 2004 the company pledged to build waste treatment system. But there has been no such action by the company to date.
On February 25, the department imposed a fine of VND15.25 million (USD730), for environmental violations.
The director of the company, Nguyen Minh Sao, claims that the pollution is caused by the residences surrounding the area.
Mr. Duc shows the drain that spews contamination into the water supply
Gathering up dead fish
Waste flows freely into the canal
Many also complain about the smoke from the company\'s burning of waste products
Covered well
