All manufacturers that discharge from 50 cubic meters of wastewater a day into the Saigon River will be subject to inspections by the HCMC Environmental Protection Agency between now and mid-May, an official said.

Nguyen Cuu Long Giang, head of the agency’s supervision division, said the investigation would focus on around 1,000 enterprises that are discharging large amounts of untreated wastewater into the river.

“We will launch an investigation into any enterprise that discharges over 50 cubic meters of wastewater into the river each day,” he told the Daily on Monday right after making a preliminary report to authorities regarding pollution in the river.

The agency has completed a four-month preliminary probe into 450 enterprises along the river. In a report submitted on Monday to leaders of the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the agency said its preliminary investigation unveiled shocking findings, with as many as 270 out of 450 investigated enterprises having no wastewater treatment facilities.

These enterprises are discharging into the Saigon River some 61,000 cubic meters of industrial wastewater a day, in addition to 2,200 cubic meters being emitted from cattle farms and over 100,000 cubic meters of household wastewater.

Giang said after the agency finishes its forthcoming comprehensive investigation, it would request the department to apply stronger punitive measures to help control the discharge of untreated wastewater into the river.

At the moment, the Saigon-Dong Nai river system supplies huge amounts of crude water for some key water treatment plants in the city such as Tan Hiep and Thu Duc.

Beside the wastewater discharged directly from enterprises along the river basin, the Saigon River is receiving huge amounts of untreated wastewater from 24 main canals that take wastewater from residential areas in 11 districts around the city.

Source: SGT