Tons of dead fish floating white, Vinh City plans to build a forced pumping system to replace Hao Thanh water filter

Fish still die in Vinh moat

On the morning of October 13, in Vinh ancient citadel moat, dead fish were still lying on the moat. Photo: Thanh Phuc

On the morning of October 13, at Vinh Thanh Canal, flowing through Block 1, Cua Nam Ward, dead fish were still floating in the canal. Workers from Nghe An Urban Construction and Environment Joint Stock Company were dividing into groups to collect the fish.

Ms. Nguyet, a worker at the company, said: “From Tuesday until now, workers have had to stay here to collect dead fish. On days when there were many dead fish, they worked through lunch. The past two days, there have been fewer dead fish, but they still have to work continuously. Because after cleaning up one section of the trench, dead fish have floated up in another section.”

For the past 4 days, workers of Nghe An Urban Construction and Environment Joint Stock Company have been continuously staying at the site to collect dead fish. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Although the amount of dead fish was not as dense and covered the bottom of the moat as on October 10, because the fish decomposed quickly, it gave off a strong stench, polluting the environment and affecting the lives of people living nearby.

Ms. Tran Thi Ly, a resident of Doi Cung ward along Vinh city's moat, said: "It rains and then clears up, fish die continuously, the water in the moat is heavily polluted, so the fishy, ​​foul smell carries into the house with the wind. In the coming days, according to the forecast, there will be heavy rain, very likely to be flooded, the only worry is that when the water in the moat rises, fish continue to die and drift onto the road, into people's houses, we don't know how to handle it."

Although the amount of dead fish was not as dense as on October 10, the workers still had a hard time. Photo: Thanh Phuc

For the past two days, fish deaths have also occurred at Cua Nam ecological lake. Dead fish covered the surface of the lake. Dozens of workers, boats, and trucks continuously scooped up the dead fish to destroy them, but they were still unable to keep up.

Mr. Phan Van Tam - Head of Planning Department, Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company said: “In the past 2 days alone, every day, the company has to mobilize 30-35 workers to be on duty in the moat area and Cua Nam ecological lake to handle the fish carcasses. After scooping them all up in the morning, in the afternoon, we checked again and saw the fish carcasses floating up. Therefore, despite working continuously, the amount of fish carcasses still cannot be completely handled. And we don’t know when this work will end because this situation continues. Meanwhile, it is raining so the workers are very tired.”

Fish still float white in the moat of Vinh ancient citadel. Video : Thanh Phuc

Will build forced pumping system, replace water filter in moat

In the past few days, an estimated 4-5 tons of dead fish have been processed. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Vinh city said: "The inspection results show that the phenomenon of mass fish deaths in Vinh city's Hao in recent days is due to 4 causes.

Firstly, the water in the moat is heavily polluted, the layer of sediment deposited underneath is too thick because it has not been dredged. Secondly, the wastewater treatment pumping station in the northeast of the city is damaged, causing wastewater to not be treated in time, overflowing into the lake, increasing the level of pollution. Thirdly, after rain, tilapia often suffer from heat shock leading to death. Fourthly, the density of fish in the moat is too thick, so when they die, they easily die en masse.

Workers are continuously scooping up fish but still not all. Photo taken on October 13. Photo: Thanh Phuc

To solve the problem of dead fish and environmental pollution in the ancient citadel moat area, Vinh City People's Committee has directed Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committees of Cua Nam, Quang Trung, and Doi Cung wards to mobilize forces and organize the timely removal of dead fish in the ancient citadel moat area, limiting environmental pollution. Regularly monitor and promptly remove dead fish in the coming days. At the same time, organize the capture of fish in the moat to avoid the situation of fish growing strongly and dying en masse.

Vinh City People's Committee also assigned the Vinh City Construction Investment Project Management Board to monitor and confirm the implementation volume of Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company; Ward People's Committees are responsible for confirming and supervising the community.

Fish deaths have also occurred in Cua Nam ecological lake in the past two days. (Photo taken on October 13). Photo: Thanh Phuc

For Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company, it is necessary to closely coordinate with the consulting unit to evaluate and develop a plan to repair and replace damaged machinery, operate the wastewater system at the Ancient Citadel in particular, and in the city in general, ensuring compliance with approved procedures, minimizing wastewater flow into the regulating lake and rivers in the area.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Vinh City added: "The city is assigning units to urgently and thoroughly handle the treatment of dead fish in the moat and Cua Nam ecological lake. At the same time, direct relevant units to promptly repair and fix the damage to the pressure pipelines that transmit wastewater; operate the sluice gates in the moat in accordance with the design and procedures".

Vinh City People's Committee has directed relevant units to operate the sluice gates in the moat in accordance with the design. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In addition, the Vinh City People's Committee has also submitted a proposal to dredge the ancient citadel moat every year. At the same time, in the medium-term plan, a forced pumping system will be built, a convection channel will be built with the Vinh River to filter the water in the Vinh ancient citadel moat. Hopefully, with these positive and drastic actions, the pollution problem in the ancient citadel moat will be completely resolved...

Directive document of Vinh City People's Committee on solving the situation of dead fish and environmental pollution in Vinh Ancient Citadel Moat area. Screenshot: Thanh Phuc

Regarding the direction of handling the incident of dead fish in Vinh Ancient Citadel, in Document 5654/UBND-TNMT dated October 11, 2023 signed by Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee Tran Quang Lam, the Department of Internal Affairs was assigned to review the responsibility of Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company in the operation of the drainage system and the responsibility when the fish death incident occurred. According to the assessment of Vinh City People's Committee, Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company has not performed well the management and operation of the Ancient Citadel drainage system according to the contract with the City People's Committee; passive, not resolute in the work of removing dead fish, handling the environment when the incident occurred, although the leaders of the City People's Committee and specialized departments have directly directed.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/hang-tan-ca-chet-noi-trang-tp-vinh-len-ke-hoach-xay-dung-he-thong-bom-cuong-buc-thay-loc-nuoc-hao-thanh-post278250.html