The Department of Natural Resources and Environment in the central province of Thanh Hoa has concluded that polluted wastewater from a beer company, among other reasons, has caused the deaths of hundreds of kilograms of farm-raised fish on the company’s Mat Son wastewater lake.
Thanh Hoa Beer Joint Stock Company was authorized to use the lake in Thanh Hoa City to discharge treated wastewater.
In the middle of July, about half of a ton of fish raised by locals on farms on Mat Son were found dead.
The department said that the quality of water in the lake is not suitable for raising fish as it is yellow, sparkling and smelly and asked the company to ensure that its wastewater meets permitted environmental standards.
Besides, the density of the fish farms on the lake combined with hot weather and a large amount of mud on the lake bed had led to the deaths of the fish.
“Part of the reason is because Thanh Hoa Beer Joint Stock Company has not managed the lake well and allowed locals to raise fish in it,” the department said in its conclusion.
The department has asked Thanh Hoa Beer Joint Stock Company to dredge the lake to increase the water containing capacity of it. The company has also been directed to put a ban on fish farming on the lake as well as build a fence around it to prevent locals from discharging their wastewater into the lake.
In May, Hoa Binh Sugarcane and Sugar JSC in the northern province of Hoa Binh was fined $21,470 for polluting the Buoi River, causing mass fish deaths in Thanh Hoa's Thach Thanh District.
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