Vinh River and Dao River turned black and smelled foul.

According to the reporter's records at noon on September 11, at the Ben Thuy Bar Management Station (Trung Do Ward), the Vinh River water is still pitch black and has a strong foul smell. Running along this river to the Cua Tien Bridge area, the river water is also in a similar state.

“The water started turning black about three days ago. The stench was unbearable. We reported it to the authorities,” said Nguyen Van Hanh, a resident living next to the river. He said that since the water changed color, like many other households, his family had to close their doors all day because they could not stand the stench.

Fishermen on the river had to cover their noses because they could not stand the stench of the Vinh River. Photo: Tien Hung

“Yesterday and this morning, a lot of fish died. But no one dared to collect them because they would feed the pigs for fear that the pigs would also die because the water is so seriously polluted,” another resident added.

Mr. Le Dinh Nam - Station Chief of Ben Thuy River Management Station said that for the past 3 days, the Vinh River water has been turning black and more concentrated every day. The peak was this morning (September 11), the river water turned black, many fish died. "This is very dangerous for the environment. This is a flood drainage project for the people of Vinh City. However, with the water being black like this, we do not dare to close the sluice because we are afraid that it will accumulate water and pollute the whole area," Mr. Nam added.

Dead fish floating in Ben Thuy bara area. Photo: Tien Hung

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huan - Chairman of Trung Do Ward People's Committee said that after understanding the situation, he and ward officials went to inspect the area for the past 2 days, but no factories were found discharging waste into the environment. Except for households living on both sides of the river discharging waste as usual.

“We don’t know where this black water comes from. But the entire Vinh River is like this, not just the area under my management. We are currently making a report to the city to find a plan to investigate and handle this water pollution problem,” said Mr. Huan.

According to the reporter's investigation, in the past few days, the Dao River - the upstream of the Vinh River flowing through Hung Nguyen District - has been in a similar situation. It is worth mentioning that this is the river that supplies water to clean water plants in the area.