Work is to begin on a US$352 million clean-up of Ha Noi’s Nhue and To Lich rivers – the capital’s drainage system, whose stinking, polluted waters are damaging the environment.

Workers unblock water flows on the To Lich River in Ha Noi. An US$352 million project has been started to clean up the polluted Nhue and To Lich rivers.

Natural Resources and Environment Department deputy head Pham Van Khanh said untreated waste water was critically polluting all rivers, lakes and ponds in the area and action had to be taken.

“The 76-km Nhue River is so polluted it cannot even serve agricultural production,” Khanh said. “Some parts of it stink and the pollution affects the health of thousands of people residing in eight districts along its course.”

Hundreds of manufacturers in traditional craft villages lying along Nhue River discharged their waste directly into the river, without any treatment.

Also, the Nhue gets 500,000cu.m per day of heavily polluted water from four inner rivers of Ha Noi, mainly the To Lich.

The first plan was to dilute the foul water of the To Lich to minimise its pollution of the Nhue. This would be achieved by building a sewerage system to pump water from the cleaner Hong River into the To Lich. Water from To Lich would then run into the Nhue with the same amount of pollution, but the density would be reduced.

The department said a ditch from the Hong to the To Lich would be upgraded to ensure a flow of 5cu.m per second.

Khanh said the department planned to build small, high technology waste water treatment stations, each with the capacity of 25,000-30,000cu.m per day, to treat city waste discharges into the Nhue and To Lich rivers in the long term.

Khanh said, however, that these technical methods would not be enough by themselves to protect the rivers. It was necessary to teach people not to throw, dump or discharge rubbish or waste material into the rivers.

Water Drainage Company head Bui Duc Thinh said workers picked up three tonnes of rubbish a day on the river, which was only a drop in the ocean. Much of waste sank to the bottom which made it difficult to dredge. The company had erected anti-litter signs along the banks but no-one took any notice, he said.

Inspection and management of waste treatment systems is expected to be stepped up in craft villages and enterprises discharging into the rivers.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News