Installing pumps and 'huge' water treatment stations

According to the reflection of the people of Doan Ket commune, Van Don district (Quang Ninh), recently appeared a raw water pumping station with large capacity of unknown unit, risking loss of water resources.

It is worth mentioning that local people said that the above water source is transported by pipeline to Phuong Dong Urban Area (Dong Xa Commune, Van Don District).

Mr. Nguyen Tien H. (40 years old, residing in Van Don District) said: "Many months ago, we discovered a large capacity pumping station pumping water in the area north of Brigade 242 in Dong Xa Commune. It is unclear who owns this water pumping system, but it does not serve domestic water in the locality. When asked, no one knew, and when we petitioned the local authorities, it has not been resolved yet."

According to the People's Committee of Van Don District, through inspection by this locality, the above pumping station belongs to Phuong Dong Urban Construction Investment Joint Stock Company - Investor of Phuong Dong urban area.

In March 2023, Phuong Dong Urban Construction Investment Joint Stock Company sent a report to the People's Committee of Van Don District stating that this enterprise installed a pumping station to pump raw water in the area as reported by the people for the purpose of watering trees; starting from February and up to now, it has pumped about 4,500 ^m3 . The above pumping station has a maximum exploitation capacity of 80 ^m3 /day and night and compared with current regulations, this enterprise believes that it is not subject to the requirement to apply for an exploitation license.

In mid-May, when Thanh Nien reporters approached the pumping station of Phuong Dong Urban Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, they found many unusual points. The parameters on the pump recorded a very large capacity of 105 ^m3 /hour.

Notably, when surveying the water treatment plant of the enterprise at the gate of Phuong Dong Urban Area, the reporter noticed the grand scale, as if it were a water treatment plant. At this project, there are many items invested in grandly to treat water such as dosing pumps, tanks, etc.

Pumping station, water treatment not in accordance with planning

Speaking with Thanh Nien reporter, Mr. Ngoc Thai Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Ninh, said that at the end of April, this unit went to inspect and discovered that Phuong Dong Urban Construction Investment Joint Stock Company had built an illegal water treatment station and requested the People's Committee of Van Don District to take measures to dismantle this project.

Mr. Ngoc Thai Hoang also said: "The enterprise sent a document to the unit and stated that the water pumping was to serve the watering of trees in Phuong Dong Urban Area. However, we also question the accuracy of the above response because the amount of water pumped is very large."

Regarding this, according to Quang Ninh Clean Water Joint Stock Company, through comparison, the water treatment system of the above-mentioned Phuong Dong Urban Area is not in accordance with the Water Supply Planning and the centralized Fire Prevention and Fighting Water Supply System in urban areas and industrial parks in the province. Especially, it is not in accordance with the General Planning for the Construction of Van Don Economic Zone approved by the Prime Minister in February 2020.

In addition, the fact that Phuong Dong Urban Construction Investment Joint Stock Company arbitrarily installed a water exploitation system, transmission pipeline, and treatment system is also inconsistent with the general planning of Phuong Dong Urban Area approved by the competent authorities of Quang Ninh province.

After reporting the content of the business installing pumping stations and water treatment in violation of planning, with many unusual signs, the reporter contacted the leaders of Van Don District People's Committee to find out more information about the handling options. The local leaders said they would check and discuss again, but there has been no response yet.