Saigon River is dying
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/12/761981/

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City’s Saigon River is becoming oxidized and polluted.

Annual tests reveal that the river contains oil and doesn’t meet A-level
standards but is still the main source of water for the entire city.

According to test results, released by the HCM City Environmental Protection
Agency on December 27, oxidization and organic pollution are threatening this
river. Measurements show that the Coliform ratio exceeds Vietnamese standards by
17-220 fold.

Scientists warn if pollution continues unchecked it may become a dead river in
the future; the City needs to take drastic measures to prevent further pollution.

According to the Institute for Water and Environmental Technology, pollution has
dirtied the water by five times since 2005. The volume of NH3 and Coliform has
surged in the past three years while manganese rose from 0.09-0.11mg/litre in
2005 to 0.15 to 0.45 mg/l in 2007, well exceeding Vietnamese regulation
standards of 0.1 mg/l.

“The city has been and will pay high costs, not only money but social
consequences, if this situation continues,” emphasized Lam Minh Triet, Rector of
the Institute for Water and Environmental Technology. Triet said pollution is
caused by waste water discharged by families and factories.

More worriedly, most reservoirs in HCM City use water from the Saigon River;
residents are in just as much harm as the environment.

Bui Thanh Giang, Director of the Tan Hiep Water Plant, confirmed that since
2004, the Saigon River’s water quality has been reducing fast. “My plant will
soon be unable to treat toxic substances and clean this water to a level that it
can be used,” Giang admitted.

The Saigon Water Supply Corporation plans to invite local and foreign experts to
brainstorm how to deal with pollution and restore the utility and beauty of the
Saigon River.