A Few Solutions for Improving the Water Quality of Polluted Rivers

and Canals in Vietnam: A Case of Ho Chi Minh City

Nguyen Tan Danh

Department of IT, FPT University, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

Keywords: Environment, Solutions, Pollution, Rivers, Canals.

Abstract: Ho Chi Minh City is continuously developing strongly in terms of economy and society, and people's

problems are gradually being actively overcome and improved. However, a problem that is causing many

shortcomings in recent times is the water pollution in the city area. While the direction to resolve has not been

clearly outlined, this situation is causing difficulties for daily activities of residents. Most canals are in the

city. Ho Chi Minh City is facing serious pollution. The people here can easily see a black water flowing along

the city's vast boulevards, this image that has existed for many years. This paper addresses a number of

possible solutions and by using interview and survey methods, the results of the paper shows that the

environment of a big city like Ho Chi Minh city needs strengthening more drastic solutions.

1 INTRODUCTION

Currently in the city there are more than 17,000

shabby houses due to the construction of semi-

temporary houses located on and along the canals'

corridors, encroaching on the flow. This is part of the

reason for the increase in domestic waste in the flow

(Babut et al., 2019). In fact, the canals along the

residential areas, the level of pollution are alarmingly

high with a series of wastes, mainly domestic waste.

These canals is polluted like this because part of

people's awareness is not good, everyone poured

garbage into the canal, no wonder it is not polluted.

Contrary to the current socio-economic

development, environmental problems in Ho Chi

Minh City are going down seriously. Because it is one

of the major cities in Vietnam, HCMC has a dense

population and many industrial parks. Wastewater

from residential areas and industrial wastewater is the

main cause of water pollution.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9323-3123

2 THE RESEARCH CONTENT

2.1 The Alarming Pollution Situation

of Rivers in Ho Chi Minh City

Although Ho Chi Minh City has implemented many

solutions to reduce water pollution in the Saigon

River basin over the years, up to now, the pollution is

still in excess of the permitted level, affecting public

health (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The status of river pollution in Ho Chi Minh city.

Nguyen, T.

A Few Solutions for Improving the Water Quality of Polluted Rivers and Canals in Vietnam: A Case of Ho Chi Minh City.

DOI: 10.5220/0010585300100015

In Proceedings of the International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Sustainable Development of Regional Infrastructure (ISSDRI 2021), pages 10-15

ISBN: 978-989-758-519-7

According to the monitoring results of the General

Department of Environment, under the Ministry of

Natural Resources and Environment (Natural

Resources and Environment), the water quality of the

Saigon River observed in the first five phases of 2020

has a clear change from upstream to downstream.

24% of the water quality index (WQI) value reaches

the level of use for domestic water supply but requires

appropriate treatment measures. Notably, 1.3% of the

value is at heavily polluted water level, which

requires future treatment measures (Danh & Hoi,

2019)..

The evolution of surface water quality in the

Saigon River from 2016 to 2020 shows that the

organic pollution (COD and BOD5) content does not

increase much, but the BOD5 / COD ratio tends to

increase at most of the monitoring points, proving that

the control of domestic wastewater is not good. This

is consistent with the new statistic that 21.6% of

domestic wastewater is collected and treated (Thi Van

Ha et al, 2008).

Over the past time, although Ho Chi Minh City

has made efforts to implement many measures to

protect the environment, there are still many pressing

problems, seriously affecting the quality of water

resources in the Saigon River basin. Saigon River

flows through the territory of a number of localities

in the southern key economic region, where many

production establishments and industrial parks are

concentrated. Because the population of Ho Chi Minh

City is concentrated, the amount of domestic

wastewater is very large but has not been thoroughly

treated, causing water pollution in the city (Le Vo,

2007).

2.2 A Number of Activities Aimed at

Overcoming River Pollution

In order to limit the environmental pollution impact

on the Saigon River, Ho Chi Minh City has conducted

inspection and violation handling activities. Up to

now, all 37 establishments causing serious pollution

in the city have completed the treatment of pollution

completely or have been relocated or shut down

(reaching 100%), of which 21 establishments have

stopped operating Export, relocation and 16 facilities

have completed the treatment of pollution (Thi Van

Ha et al, 2008). The city has studied the WQI water

quality zoning and assessed the use of water resources

of rivers, canals and ditches in the area. The city has

also deployed statistics on pollution sources from

industrial wastewater in the city to assess and

preliminarily determine the level of pollution caused

by wastewater from industrial production activities

on the river city (Le Vo, 2007). Dong Nai river system

(including the Saigon river basin). The city has also

investigated and counted the points of direct

discharge to canals and channels in the basin of the

Saigon - Dong Nai river; calculating the pollutant

load of the wastes discharged into canals and

channels in the Saigon - Dong Nai river basin; GIS

mapping for management and monitoring of

discharge points directly to canals and ditches in

Saigon - Dong Nai river basin.

In the coming time, the city will continue to build

local environmental technical regulations, evaluate,

classify and build a national database on waste

sources. The city has increased the dissemination of

the WQI index on the 48-board traffic electronic

system; continue to maintain the web-based system

that includes all general information and data of each

monitoring location; Integrate into the environmental

monitoring portal and mobile application that can

access, access and monitor environmental monitoring

data via smart phones (Hoi, 2020).

Along with that, the city continues to review and

propose a list of facilities causing environmental

pollution, serious environmental pollution, and

production facilities that are not in line with the urban

construction planning. At the same time, the city

urged facilities to complete remediation measures, or

relocate on time. The city also continues to update

data on environmental database management

software, complete the environmental database (Le

Vo, 2009).

3 METHODOLOGY AND

RESULTS

This paper is made and completed based on the

analysis of historical and current data on

environmental pollution in Ho Chi Minh City and

gives some suitable recommendations.

A small survey with the participation of 20 people

living near canals in Ho Chi Minh City also showed

that the results were not very satisfactory. Most of

them expressed dissatisfaction with the terrible smell

of the canals. During low tide, the smell from these

canals affects their life quite significantly (90%).

Most of the people (100%) think that they cannot use

water wells for domestic purposes because the

pollution is very serious. The smell of the water is

also very bad and the color of the water is

problematic. In addition, some people are less

conscious since they throw rubbish indiscriminately;

they even throw animal carcasses down the canals.

A Few Solutions for Improving the Water Quality of Polluted Rivers and Canals in Vietnam: A Case of Ho Chi Minh City

Some people also use canals as toilets, this has a big

impact on residents' daily lives.

Figure 2: Respondents ‘ideas about improving environment

When asked about the solutions, the majority

(70%) said that the government needs stronger

measures. Others (20%) said that propaganda plays a

rather important role. The remainder believe that the

slums need to be relocated soon to improve the

environment (Figure 2).

Currently, about 20% of the people do not have

access to clean water, 17.2 million people still use

water that does not meet the clean water standards of

the Ministry of Health of Vietnam. The total amount

of water being exploited and used annually is 80.6

billion m3 / 830 billion m3 (10% of the total water

volume of the country. Of which more than 80%

(about 65 billion m3 / year) is used for agriculture. ;

The demand for water for people living and industry

will reach about 130-150 billion m3 / year,

accounting for nearly 50% of the water produced in

the territory, nearly 90% of the water in the dry season

(about 170 billion m3 ).

The risk of dehydration is obvious and severe.

Degradation, depletion of surface water,

groundwater, water shortage, water scarcity become

more common.

Statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources

and Environment, the Ministry of Health, currently

each year, about 9,000 people die from poor water

and sanitation, nearly 250,000 people are hospitalized

because of diarrhea due to polluted domestic water.

About 200,000 people get cancer each year, one of

the main causes is water pollution. According to a

WHO study on malnutrition in Vietnamese children,

it has issued a warning that about 44% of children are

infected with worms and 27% of children under 5 are

malnourished, the main cause. This is due to lack of

clean water and poor sanitation. Besides, about 21%

of the population is using arsenic contaminated water.

It is very worrying that, in fact, there is still a segment

of the population despite these red alarm numbers.

According to a recent report by the Ministry of

Natural Resources and Environment, up to 30% of the

population is not aware of the importance of using

safe water.

4 DISCUSSION

4.1 Causes of Water Pollution

The reason is indicated by the hot growth in

population, rapid urbanization and industrialization in

recent years, which has put pressure on the water

environment in river basins (Babut et al., 2019). The

level of pollution of water sources in canals, rivers

and lakes in big cities and concentrated population

areas is very serious (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The slums in Ho Chi Minh city.

Of the total amount of wastewater generated in

river basins, domestic and industrial wastewater still

accounts for the largest proportion (Hoi, 2020).

According to the latest national environmental status

report (2018), the rate of domestic wastewater

collected in urban areas of grade 4 and above is only

about 12.5%, with 45 factories, Wastewater treatment

stations, concentrated in 29 provinces and cities (in

Hanoi alone, 20.62% of domestic wastewater is

treated, while in HCMC about 13%). Out of 251

industrial zones in operation, there are 221 industrial

zones with complete centralized wastewater

treatment system and in operation, accounting for

88%. However, out of 689 industrial clusters in

operation, only 109 industrial clusters with

wastewater treatment facilities were in operation,

accounting for only 15.8%. The rate of daily-life solid

waste collected and treated is about 86% in urban

areas, about 40% -55% in rural areas; a very large

portion is discharged into the water supply (Le Vo,

2009).

70%

20%

10%

Applying

stronger

measures

Using

propaganda

Relocating the

slums

ISSDRI 2021 - International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Sustainable Development of Regional Infrastructure

In addition, the amount of fertilizers, pesticides,

and chemicals used in agricultural cultivation that

flow back into the water source is also considered

"seriously polluting". Notably, measurement and

monitoring data at border locations also recorded

polluted water sources that have been flowing into

our territory.

Besides, the current provisions of law on licensing

wastewater discharge are not appropriate.

Cooperation in water sharing as well as cross-border

pollution control continues to be a challenging issue,

requiring smart political-diplomatic policies.

Statistics of the Department of Natural Resources

and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City show that the

city currently has about 3,300 sources of waste from

production, trade and service establishments. In

which, only 35% of production, service and trade

establishments have environmental treatment systems

meeting environmental standards (Danh & Hoi,

2019).

Water quality monitoring results have just been

announced by the Department of Natural Resources

and Environment, showing that the water source in

the canal system in Ho Chi Minh City is in a state of

heavy pollution. Components such as BOD5

(biological oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen

demand), microbiological criteria (coliform),

suspended matter content (SS), heavy metals, etc. all

exceed the magnetic standard tens to thousands of

times allowed. Pollution becomes more serious at low

tide (Hoi, 2020).

This situation reduces the quality of water

resources in the inner city canals and river water

sources, seriously affecting the water supply for daily

life of the city people city (Le Vo, 2007). Only the

wastewater from the export processing zones and

industrial zones in the city has shown an alarming

level of pollution (Gia, 2021). In Ho Chi Minh City,

15 export processing zones and industrial zones have

put into operation the centralized wastewater

treatment system, but still more than 700 other

sources of waste that have not been fully controlled

are still being discharged into the environment. That

is not to mention the small-dispersed industrial

establishments located in the residential areas also

regularly discharge untreated wastewater into canals

(Duc & Truong, 2003).

Meanwhile, a scientific study of the Project to

control scattered waste sources along the Saigon

River funded by the Government of Spain in Ho Chi

Minh City also showed that the domestic wastewater

of the city people also is one of the main causes of

such serious pollution.

The research results of this project show that the

water quality of the Saigon River is degraded by

many sources of waste such as urban runoff,

wastewater from residential areas, oil leakage from

water traffic activities, landfill, mining and industrial

and agricultural production. In which, the most

worrying thing is wastewater in residential areas,

especially domestic wastewater contaminated with

feces and urban runoff (Gia, 2021). Due to the

growing concrete area of the city, rainwater cannot

penetrate the ground, but overflows carry all the

waste on the ground down to the canals leading to the

river. And the waste from the septic tanks that are not

working effectively or not go through the septic tanks

is discharged into the river, making the river water

polluted quite seriously (Thi Van Ha et al, 2008).

4.2 The Effects of Water Pollution on

People's Life

Vietnam has a dense river and a large number of

rivers and streams concentrated in big cities like Ha

Noi and Ho Chi Minh city (Figure 4).

Figure 4. River flow per area (bill m³ / year)

According to the statistics of the Ministry of

Health, the Ministry of Natural Resources and

Environment, an average of 9,000 people die each

year from polluted water, over 200,000 cases of

cancer are found, one of the causes is due to using

polluted water. When water is contaminated with

microorganisms, toxic chemicals, etc. can adversely

affect the health of users (Bolay et al., 1997).

When the water environment is contaminated

with bacteria, viruses, parasites or when the water

becomes the medium for vectors of disease such as:

gastrointestinal disease (diarrhea, cholera, dysentery,

typhoid, Hepatitis A, etc.); helminthiasis

(roundworm, whipworm, hookworm, liver fluke,

pulmonary fluke, schistosomiasis, etc.); Using dirty

water in personal hygiene can lead to skin diseases;

eye diseases (red eye pain, trachoma, conjunctivitis,

conjunctivitis); gynecological diseases such as

bacterial vaginosis, etc.

A Few Solutions for Improving the Water Quality of Polluted Rivers and Canals in Vietnam: A Case of Ho Chi Minh City

Scientific studies also show that, when using

arsenic-contaminated water for drinking, people can

get cancer, most commonly skin cancer. In addition,

arsenic also poisoning the circulatory system when

drinking water with arsenic content of 0.1mg / l.

Therefore, it is necessary to treat arsenic

contaminated water before using it for daily life and

eating (Duc & Truong, 2003).

People with long-term lead infection can suffer

from kidney, nerve, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite

infection that can cause blue skin disease, anemia, can

cause cancer. Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a

common additive in oil extraction, has a very high

potential to cause cancer. Sodium (Na) infection

causes high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease,

sulfur causes gastrointestinal disease, Potassium,

Cadmium cause degenerative spinal disease, back

pain. Organic compounds, pesticides, insecticides,

herbicides, growth stimulants, food preservatives,

phosphorus, etc. cause poisoning, hepatitis, vomiting

city (Le Vo, 2007).

Long-term exposure will cause serious cancer of

internal organs. Bacteria and parasites of all kinds are

the causes of gastrointestinal diseases, worms and

helminth infections. Heavy metals of all kinds:

titanium, iron, lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, zinc

cause nerve pain, kidney, excretory system,

osteomyelitis, anemia.

5 SOME SUGGESTIONS

For a long time, the city has not synchronously

implemented measures to protect the water

environment; funding for monitoring and checking

the discharge of enterprises, production

establishments, etc. is insufficient. The monitoring

force is limited, so a number of businesses have

discharged wastewater directly into the river system,

causing water pollution. The city should have

propaganda policies to let people in the city in

particular, as well as people from other places come

to do business and live in the city, see their

responsibility in protecting the environment, and see

the city as of their own, associated with their own

survival. At the same time, the city should strengthen

sanctions, severely punish violations of

environmental laws.

We need long-term and short-term solutions to

help improve canal pollution. Specifically, the

reduction of water pollution in canals should be

community based. At the same time, we need to add

the function of environmental self-management to the

neighborhoods, promote their role in propaganda to

raise people's awareness, especially households living

along canals without littering and wastewater into the

river (Thi Van Ha et al, 2008).

Another solution is to survey, mobilize and

encourage households to build water storage tank to

avoid environmental pollution and not go directly to

the natural environment. This approach allows a 60%

reduction in pollutant concentrations for BOD5 and

40% for COD. We also need to strengthen

propaganda, advocacy, punishment education,

enforcement of law enforcement, encourage

investment establishments and well implement

construction regulations city (Le Vo, 2007). In

addition, the management agency should strengthen

measures to manage, supervise and inspect

wastewater treatment facilities to reduce the risk of

water quality pollution (Thuong et al., 2007).

In the long term, it is necessary to increase the

capacity of state management on the protection of

surface water environment; building a network of

domestic wastewater collection, connecting to the

city's general collection and treatment system as

planned; improve the garbage collection network. It

is necessary to prioritize investment in the urgent

treatment of water pollution and degradation in canals

and rivers such as standard wastewater treatment

systems, drainage and domestic wastewater treatment

systems; strengthening the dredging of polluted

canals, embankment construction.

6 CONCLUSION

The speed of industrialization and urbanization is

quite fast and the population growth has put

increasing pressure on water resources in the

territory. The water environment in many cities,

industrial parks and craft villages is increasingly

polluted by wastewater, emissions and solid waste. In

big cities, the high density of domestic waste is also

an important cause of water pollution. The

communication campaign to raise awareness, the

community consciously protects water resources,

especially the need to apply stricter regulations on

pollution control, forcing all businesses to Enterprises

- from small to large scale - must meet the minimum

standards of wastewater in production and business,

and avoid environmental pollution. After all, clean

water and fresh air are essential to a healthy life.

ISSDRI 2021 - International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Sustainable Development of Regional Infrastructure

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There is no conflict of interestin the paper.

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A Few Solutions for Improving the Water Quality of Polluted Rivers and Canals in Vietnam: A Case of Ho Chi Minh City