Wastewater overflows into Da Nang sea

The Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment, in cooperation with the Drainage and Wastewater Treatment Co., and other relevant entities, inspected estuaries across the city and found wastewater flowing towards the sea at drainage gates near Ton That Dam Street. Another drainage gate on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street saw wastewater forming a pool.

Along the coastal lines of the Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son districts, inspectors also found wastewater flowing from several drainage gates, including certain gates located near resort areas.

The drainage company deployed workers to distribute sand and soil at several drainage gates to prevent wastewater from flowing out into the sea.

Nguyen Thi Duc, deputy director of the company, said Da Nang’s drainage system, which collects both wastewater and rainwater, was built in 2007. Following over two years under the impact of Covid-19, coastal hotels saw no customers. Now that tourism activities have resumed, hotels are operational again and the drainage system is being overwhelmed, causing wastewater to overflow despite there being no rain, she added.

The company has put pumps to work at maximum capacity, but they were not enough to prevent all the wastewater from reaching the sea. The response plan, which has been approved by city authorities, is to use sand dams at drainage gates to keep the water in, and then use pumps to get the wastewater back into the sewage system.

But in certain areas, wastewater build-up is too much and so using sand dams can cause them to flow into the sea, Duc said. In other areas, sand must be taken from one place to another, creating big holes in the ground, he said.

In 2019, the Da Nang People’s Committee invested in two wastewater treatment projects along the coast, including an environment improvement project in Son Tra District with an investment cost of over VND1.44 trillion ($61.4 million) and a drainage infrastructure project in the Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son districts costing VND2.45 trillion.

While the projects have begun construction, they have not been finished yet, Duc said.

“The company can only use pumps right now to treat wastewater at the coast, as well as install aeration systems at certain drainage gates with pooled wastewater to minimize the stench,” she said. “Only when the two aforementioned projects go into operation can the problem be solved.”

Le Van Dung, deputy head of the urban committee of the Da Nang People’s Council, said the Council has requested the Department of Construction investigate the matter.