Nha Trang bay seriously polluted by wastewater

VietNamNet Bridge - Nha Trang bay is badly contaminated by wastewater from nearby households and factories.

Tran Thi Gai, who lives in the central city’s Vinh Phuoc Ward, no longer allows her 10-year-old son to swim in the beach next to their house since it is polluted by sewage from Hon Chong island.

There are three other sewers on Pham Van Dong Street and one on Tran Phu, the city’s most beautiful road, all directly discharging wastewater into the sea.

A number of seafood processors and other plants in the Binh Tan Industrial Zone also discharge effluents directly into the bay.

Besides, 205 tourist boats on the bay add to the pollution since their restrooms are not equipped with septic tanks, according to Nguyen Ngoc Khoa, who works for the Cau Da Tourism Quay.

There 4,600 fish farms in the ocean which dispose of huge quantities of wastes as do residents on nearby islands.

Truong Kinh, director of the Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area, said a recent study found the bay to be suffering from an excessive concentration of hydrocarbons and irons and microorganism contamination.

“All of these will lead to the propagation of harmful bacteria and algae, and will ultimately upset the ecological balance of the bay,” he warned.

Tran Van Vo Thinh, chief of the Nha Trang city people's committee secretariat, said all the wastewater will be treated when a hygiene improvement project is launched.

But the work has made no progress in the last three years due to a lack of funds and some technological problems, he admitted.

The people’s committee has also banned wastewater disposal and fish farming in the bay.

Since 2005 it has been mandatory for tourist boats to have septic tanks attached to their toilets but not one has done so yet.

This is unacceptable in one of the world’s most beautiful bays like Nha Trang,” Bui Xuan Luong, an official from the Khanh Hoa Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.

He said what is lacking is not money but determination among provincial authorities. “They need to be serious.”

Source: Tuoi Tre