Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen has called for urgent action and severe penalties on plants that are polluting the waters of the Dong Nai River.
He made the statement at yesterday’s meeting with 12 riparian provinces to seek drastic measures to save the river, which is the main water resource for 12 riparian provinces within that area.
The minister said polluting plants should be penalized by law, suspended, closed or even asked to relocate.
Provincial and municipal administrators have to monitor tightly the use of fertilizers and insecticides, he said, adding that eco-friendly and hi-tech agricultural models need to be encouraged.
Mr. Nguyen emphasized that the river is a vital part of the region and that all effort should be made to preserve this important source of water supply to the provinces.
All socio-economic activities of the provinces depended on the river, he added.
Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, asked the city’s relevant agencies to coordinate closely with other 11 provinces to keep watch on the discharge of waste into the river to prevent pollution.
He said if the river is not protected, it will have bad impacts on production and living conditions.
Hoang Duong Tung, director of the Center for Environmental Monitoring, said an average of 4.7 million cubic meters of wastewater is being discharged daily into the river, and 1.9 million cubic meters of that happens to be industrial wastewater.
Most of the wastewater is not treated before it flows into the river, he added.
Mr. Tung said about one-third of industrial parks and export processing zones has wastewater treatment systems, and only 14 percent of 300 enterprises in Binh Duong Province have been cleared of following environmental protection norms.
The concentration of pollutants in the river has by now exceeded permitted levels within the last five years, he said.
In the Saigon river the pollution level is so high that the water can’t be treated for household consumption, he added.
