Hoi An walking street flooded with wastewater

Quang Nam Walking street in front of Nguyen Hoang night market, intersection with Nguyen Phuc Chu street, Hoi An city, has been flooded with sewage, giving off a foul smell for nearly a month.

On the afternoon of March 19, Hoi An city was sunny but the pedestrian street section of Nguyen Hoang and Nguyen Phuc Chu, Minh An ward, was flooded due to wastewater from the sewer. This area is in front of Nguyen Hoang night market, where there are nearly 100 stalls selling souvenirs, fabrics, lanterns, bags, clothes... and restaurants.

Tourists avoid flooded roads while walking around Hoi An. Photo: Dac Thanh — Tourists avoid a flooded road while walking around Hoi An, March 16. Photo: *Dac Thanh*

The owner of a lantern shop said this situation has been going on for nearly a month. Every afternoon, wastewater from the sewer rises and floods the front of the shop. As the evening progresses, the water rises more and more, causing the flooded road to stretch for about 30 meters, spread over 3 meters, and be 10 centimeters deep at its deepest point.

The stall owner used bricks and stones to block the drain, but when he blocked one place, the water overflowed into another. The stagnant water was black, flowing everywhere, and smelled bad.

"I used a wooden bridge to let customers enter the store to take pictures and buy lanterns, but seeing the pollution, they left," said the owner of a store on Nguyen Hoang Street.

A restaurant owner facing the Hoai River said the stagnant water brought a foul smell straight into the restaurant. "Customers came in and sat down, but because it smelled so bad, they left or moved their tables," he said. One night when the water rose, people used pumps to drain it, but the amount of water overflowed was so great that they couldn't keep up.

Sewage overflows onto the street, causing a foul smell. Photo: Dac Thanh — Sewage overflowed onto the street, causing a foul smell on March 16. Photo: *Dac Thanh*

During the day, tourists passing by here can detect and avoid it. At night, the crowd is so dense that the street is only lit by dim lanterns. Many people do not detect it in time and have to wade through the sewage.

"The street was packed with people, I couldn't avoid it in time so I waded through the sewage. My legs, pants and shoes were wet and the stench was terrible," said Nguyen Thanh Thuy, a tourist.

Mr. Vo Dang Phong, Chairman of Minh An Ward, said that the sewers in the area are all sealed to collect wastewater to the treatment plant. However, due to the low terrain, near the Hoai River, every time the tide rises, water from the river overflows into the drainage system, causing flooding on the road.

In addition, the sewage system has been overloaded. The system was originally designed to serve the people, but now there are many restaurants and hotels, discharging large amounts of water, so it cannot drain quickly. People and businesses lack awareness, dumping garbage into the sewage system, causing more congestion.

"Before Tet, the city dredged but now it's happening again. The ward reported to the city to fix it," said Mr. Phong.