The Black River
We live in District Three. It’s a great location because it’s halfway between our work place and the downtown area. We also have awesome neighbors who are very welcoming, friendly and helpful. However, we live very close to one the most polluted manmade geographical garbages in the city – the dirty canal. Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal runs through the city but barely moves. The Vietnamese call it the “sông đen" (black river). The stench is strong, the trash pollutes the sides of the streets and the water and people are always taking a piss in the water or just next to the canal. In addition, there are tons of restaurants and cafes that line the canal, which could make a nice place for a restaurant or café if the canal was nice and clean. However, the owners of these restaurants, cafes and homes near the canal pollute the water just as much as people driving by. It’s taking a long time for the city to work and clean the canal. They’ve even proposed an elevated highway from the airport to the city center, according to “Saigon Development and Construction Blog." But, something more realistic at the moment is equipment for water supply and a drainage system that the World Bank gave the city a loan for of US $200 million, according to Met Vuong, Inc.
We are seeing some of the continued work. They have paved one side of the road. And we can see bulldozers in the water trying to clean up the pollution. It’s taking small steps, but it will take a lot longer than expected and who knows when that is.
