The administration in Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam has made a report on the phenomenon that the water in a local canal turned red, causing public concerns, an official said on Monday.

On October 5, residents living along the Bau Giai Sau Canal in An Thai Dong Commune, Cai Be District reported that water in the canal had turned red.

Many local households had earlier used the water from the canal for watering plants, even taking a bath or washing clothes. However, they have not dared to use the canal water after it turned red.

They theorized that the canal was polluted by wastewater from Th. Fruits Co. Ltd., a nearby company specializing in processing and trading fruits and agricultural products.

The Cai Be People’s Committee established a team on October 6 to inspect the company’s compliance with regulations on environmental protection but did not detect its use of red chemicals.

Between October 10 and 16, the inspection team took water samples from the Bau Giai Sau Canal twice for testing and found that the water did not pose a risk to people’s health when compared with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s technical standards in surface water quality.

Arsenic, lead, and cadmium were not found in the surface water of the canal.

However, local authorities will keep a close watch on the water.

The district will continue testing the canal water over the next month.

The district’s natural resources and environment division will coordinate with police and the government of An Thai Dong Commune to supervise the operations of Th. Fruits Co. Ltd. and other companies in the neighborhood and impose sanctions in line with the law if they commit violations.

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