Salinity intrusion to increase in coastal waterways
By Van Nam - The Saigon Times Daily
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| Salt water intrusion has forced the Can Gio Brackish Water Treatment Plant to spend more to treat brackish water from the Long Tau River into tap water - Photo: Van Nam |
HCMC – The Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Center predicted on Monday that the level of salt penetration in HCMC’s Can Gio District would increase in the coming days and said the salinity had been hindering production of a key water treatment plant in the outlying district and of local shrimp farmers.
Le Thi Xuan Lan, vice head of the center’s Forecast Office, told the Daily on Monday the high level of seawater intrusion into coastal waterways in Can Gio, Nha Be and 7 districts was mostly due to the recent high floodtides.
Lan said the intrusion would increase because of higher floodtides expected by the end of this month and would last until the end of May. She also said the situation could be bad for the cultivation of breeder shrimp in Can Gio District.
Nguyen Thuy Dong Dao, director of Dang Doan Nguyen Company Limited, the developer of the Can Gio Brackish Water Treatment Plant, said that according to the company’s analysis of the water of the Long Tau River, the level of salt had increased by an average of over ten times compared to previous months.
Dao said the higher salt content had forced the company to spend more to treat brackish water into running water for local people. The water plant has a treatment capacity of 5,000 cubic meters per day.