lake site ho

The lakes have been getting polluted because of the domestic waste water and the rubbish that local people throw directly into the lakes.

The waste which is directly discharged into the lakes is the source of phosphorus and nitrates which lead to the increase the floating plants and algae. The algae have very short life cycle, and when it dies, it will accumulate at the bottom of the lakes, thus reducing the volume of the lakes.
Besides, as it needs oxygen for the algae decomposition process, this will lead to the decrease of the amount of oxygen in the water, thus badly affecting the aquatic animals in the lakes and cause terrible smells. It is clear that the organic pollution has been badly affecting the quality of the life of local people, causing serious diseases such as the ear, nose and throat relating diseases.
The Huu Tiep Lake in Ngoc Ha village of Ba Dinh district, a national historic site, is also in heavy pollution. The body of a B52 aircraft, the evidence of the 1972’s “Dien Bien Phu on the air” victory has been lying among moss, rubbish and the black water of the lake.

There is a market gathered right on the lakeside, while the Ngoc Ha primary school is located near the lake. As a result, rubbish from the market and from the school’s students have been thrown directly to the lake.

 Trinh Hoanh, who has been living in the Ngoc Ha village for the last 70 years, said that previously, the lake was very clean. “It was our pride. The historic site was admired by foreign travelers. However, things have become quite different,” he said.

 Also according to Hoanh, the Huu Tiep Lake has been dredged two times since 1954. “There were so much mud and rubbish,” he said.

 However, it would be a surprise to everyone that the lake, which has been dredged recently, still smells terrible. “Local households now are not allowed to discharge waste water to the lake any more. However, people and students sometimes still throw rubbish to the lake,” Hoanh complained.
The Van Chuong Lake in Dong Da district is also in serious pollution. It now looks like a pond of duckweed. Water hyacinth, rau muong (a kind of vegetable) and rubbish now cover half a surface of the lake.

Restaurants, tea shops and then motorbike cleaning shops have arisen on the lake sides. Especially, the lakesides have also been used as the place for raising fowls. Therefore, though the Van Chuong Lake has been improved recently, it remains in seriously terrible conditions.
Even the West Lake, which is called the “green lung” of the city, has also been narrowed and polluted. Visitors can see a lot of dead fish bodies on the surface of the lake which have been polluting the air. Floating restaurants and shops have been risen on the lakeside which have been discharging waste water and rubbish to the lake every hour.

State management agencies have found out that 90 percent of restaurants there do not have waste water treatment systems.

 According to the Wesk Lake Development Company, about 4000 cubic meters of industrial waste water and domestic waste water are discharged to the West Lake a day. The ammoniac content in the water is 1.5 mg per liter, or three times higher than the allowed level. Meanwhile, local residents every day “poison” the West Lake with plastic bags and domestic garbage.

T.T

(MONRE)