30-6-2023 (HANOI) Despite undergoing renovations eight years ago, the Tan Hoa – Lo Gom canal, which spans over 7 kilometers, is still heavily polluted and filled with garbage, affecting the residents living on either side. On June 28th, Hoang Dung, a 58-year-old woman, sealed her house shut to block out the putrid smell from the canal, located just 5 meters away. The water in the canal is dark and murky, filled with waste, plastic bags, and oil slicks. Dung installed an additional layer of glass doors and air purifiers to stop the smell from entering her home, but to no avail. “On hot days, my entire family has to move to a relative’s house to avoid the smell,” Dung said.
According to Dung, the heavily polluted canal has worsened in recent years. Every day, the restaurants on either side dump excess food and wastewater into it. At night, people throw dead cats, dogs, old clothes, and furniture into the canal or leave them on the banks. In some areas, piles of trash are left near “no dumping” signs on the sidewalks. Many government signs calling for cleanliness and no littering have also been defaced.
Dung has lived in the area for over 20 years and has seen the Tan Hoa – Lo Gom canal go from heavily polluted to renovated and cleaned up. Thousands of houses were removed from the canal and replaced with sturdy embankments. When the project was completed eight years ago, the putrid smell had significantly reduced. However, after a few years, pollution began to resurface.
Just 500 meters away from Dung’s home, nearly ten people from the Urban Environment Company are collecting waste and debris to transport for processing. The workers use two canoes with iron frames and nets to catch the garbage that flows downstream to the Lo Gom park. They collect plastic bags, old clothing, and even animal carcasses floating on the water and put them in large plastic containers on the canoes. Larger items such as sofas and refrigerators require manual labor to remove.
The Urban Environment Company representative said that the team collects 5-6 tons of waste and debris each day, most of which is household waste. During the summer, the amount of waste increases because of the runoff from storm drains. Compared to the Nhiêu Lộc-Thị Nghè canal, cleaning up waste in Tan Hoa – Lo Gom is more challenging due to the untreated wastewater, which is foul-smelling and contains harmful gases that can affect people’s health.
The Tan Hoa – Lo Gom canal renovation project, which spans over 7 kilometers across three districts – 6, 11, and Tan Phu – was completed in 2015 with a budget of around VND 5,000 billion. The project created nearly 12 kilometers of roads, four landscaped areas along the canal, built nearly 8,000 meters of sewage collection pipes, dredged 300,000 cubic meters of sediment, improved water flow, and created a better atmosphere along the canal. However, despite the upgraded roads and embankments, the canal is still heavily polluted and filled with garbage.
According to Huynh Minh Hung, the Vice Chairman of District 6 People’s Committee, many residents lack environmental awareness and indiscriminately dump trash. The accumulation of waste, which is difficult to decompose, leads to severe pollution. Additionally, due to a lack of funding, there is still no wastewater treatment plant in the canal area. Domestic wastewater and untreated industrial wastewater flow directly into the canal through the sewage system.
Hung stated that to reduce pollution, the authorities will increase public awareness campaigns and coordinate with relevant departments to dredge the sedimentation area, stabilize water flow, and prevent waste accumulation. “The most effective way to reduce pollution is still through public awareness,” said Hung.
Along with the local government, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has recently called on investors to build wastewater treatment plants in the Tan Hoa – Lo Gom canal basin to solve the long-term pollution issue.
