HOW IS POLLUTION AFFECTING COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON THE RIVER?
• In general, the water in the river is relatively clean. The reason for this is that the number of people living along the Mekong is fairly low compared with the volume of the water. There can of course be localized pollution, such as close to large cities, close to mining sites and in the Delta where a lot of people live and there is intensive agriculture. The quality in some of the downstream tributaries can be lower due to localized pollution. Almost all of the 22 MRC’s mainstream monitoring stations are rated as ‘excellent’ for the protection of aquatic life. The few exceptions are My Tho station in 2002 and 2005, My Thuan station in 2006 and Chau Doc station in 2002. In these stations the water quality was rated as “class B,” indicating good/acceptable quality for the protection of aquatic life. • Some impairment is caused by salinity intrusion which can fluctuate from year to year due to the natural variability of the river flows. There is concern that salinity levels will incre
