Wastewater is directly discharged to Ba Bo Canal.

Research has revealed that the 1700km Ba Bo canal, which runs from HCM City to the southern province of Binh Duong, is critically polluted. The canal water has turned black and smells bad.

Over 10,000 families totaling over 22,000 residents are living along the canal banks. They directly discharge wastewater to the canal, which makes the canal more polluted. Experts, thus, proposed to increase investment for the project to clean up Ba Bo.

The Director of the HCM City Flood Control Centre Nguyen Phuoc Thao said investment capital for this project will increase because the project developer must build a reservoir and tanks. The pay for site clearance and land compensation also rises unexpectedly.

With a total area of 1560 ha (90 percent in Binh Duong province), Ba Bo canal receives around 8600cu.m of wastewater a day from the Song Than 1 and 2 industrial zones in Binh Duong. The canal also contains tons of waste and wastewater produced by families living along the canal.

Local government was warned in 2003 of the canal’s serious pollution but not until June 2008 did the local government allocate over 307 billion dong ($17 million) for the HCM City Flood Control Centre to clean up the canal.