Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh has just sent a document reporting to the Prime Minister on the investment policy to build an emergency project to supplement water from the Red River to the To Lich River.

According to the report of the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, To Lich River water is currently heavily polluted, losing the urban beauty, affecting the health and life of people living along both sides of the river.

Hanoi has focused on implementing the previous phase 1 and phase 2 drainage projects and is implementing the investment project to build the Yen Xa wastewater collection system and treatment plant.

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To Lich River is green while being supplemented with water from West Lake. Photo: Quang Phong

After the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant project comes into operation (from December 1, 2024, the entire system is expected to be completed in 2027), the water sources supplementing the To Lich River will be collected, leading to the To Lich River drying up.

"It is forecasted that by the end of the 2026-2030 period, it will not be possible to complete the replenishment of Red River water for Nhue River and To Lich River according to the drainage plan for Hanoi Capital until 2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister," the Hanoi People's Committee reported.

According to Hanoi City, the early restoration of the To Lich River to ensure the landscape and overcome environmental pollution is identified as an urgent task of the city. In the coming dry season, the To Lich River will have a layer of mud at the bottom, causing environmental pollution and not ensuring the urban landscape.

To implement a project to supply water quickly and promptly to the To Lich River with high feasibility and in accordance with the actual conditions of the city, it is necessary to implement the emergency construction plan.

Therefore, the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee reported to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval to allow the city to build an emergency project to add water from the Red River to the To Lich River to improve the environment.

The total investment of the project is about 550 billion VND from the city budget. Hanoi commits to complete the project before September 2025.

Currently, Hanoi City has not announced a plan to add water from the Red River to the To Lich River. However, according to experts, a feasible plan is to place a pumping station on the Red River to take water and lead it to the To Lich River through a pipeline system.

When passing through the dike, the water pipe goes through a reinforced concrete box culvert to ensure the safety of the dike in all situations. The water pipe will then run along Vo Chi Cong Street to the starting point of To Lich River (Nghia Do canal section of Hoang Quoc Viet Street). At the starting point of the river, a settling tank can be built to reduce the amount of alluvium from the Red River, before being discharged into To Lich River.

To Lich River is 13.4 km long, starting point is Nghia Do canal on Hoang Quoc Viet street, ending point has two directions of discharge, the first direction is discharged into Nhue river through Thanh Liet dam control gate and the second direction is discharged into Red river through Kim Nguu river downstream to Yen So pumping station with capacity of 90 m3/s, forced pumping into Red river.

According to the Department of Construction, there are currently 119 sewers and most of them have been connected to the sewer system running along both banks of the river under the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant project. However, 32 sewers are still discharging into the river and have not been connected to the general collection system because they belong to another project (from Hoang Quoc Viet Street to Lang Ha intersection).

Based on the above facts, the city predicts that the To Lich River will have a layer of mud at the bottom in the coming dry season, causing environmental pollution and not ensuring the urban landscape. In order to implement a project to quickly and promptly replenish water for the To Lich River with high feasibility and suitable to the actual conditions of Hanoi, the project "must be implemented according to the emergency construction plan".

Two Hanoi department directors propose solutions to 'revive' To Lich River

Two Hanoi department directors propose solutions to 'revive' To Lich River

The Director of the Hanoi Department of Construction, Natural Resources and Environment said that relevant units are making efforts to separate wastewater and at the same time add water from the Red River to create a flow, 'reviving' the To Lich River.
Reduced by more than 5,000 billion VND for the project to 'revive' To Lich River

Reduced by more than 5,000 billion VND for the project to 'revive' To Lich River

The Hanoi People's Council has just agreed to adjust the total investment of the Yen Xa wastewater treatment system project from 16,000 billion VND to more than 11,000 billion VND.
Hanoi Secretary hopes that by September 2025, To Lich River will no longer be polluted.

Hanoi Secretary hopes that by September 2025, To Lich River will no longer be polluted.

Hanoi Party Secretary Bui Thi Minh Hoai assessed that the city's units have been "bustling" to find solutions so that by September 2025, the To Lich River will no longer be polluted.