Thanks to its coastline spanning around 92 km, along with its continental shelf at 200m depth, Da Nang has great potential for developing its maritime economy, and exchanging its cultural, tourism and maritime rescue activities with foreign countries.  In addition, the city boasts many beautiful beaches with their soft white sand and clear blue water.  Amongst them, the My Khe Beach was once voted one of the 6 most beautiful beaches in the world.

A local beach is crowded with people

In attempting to ensure the quality of the local marine environment, Da Nang has implemented a programme for its general environmental monitoring since 4 May 2006. 

On 30 July 2014, a plan for building an air and seawater monitoring system in the city was also adopted by the local leaders. 

Between 2006 and 2015, the monitoring of seawater was implemented at the Hoa Hai, Non Nuoc, Bac My An, My Khe, Phuoc My, Man Thai, Tho Quang and Mong Ngua public bathing areas on the eastern side of the city. 

As a result, during the 2010 - 2014 period, the quality of seawater was relatively good.  The amount of dissolved oxygen in water was safe for swimming.  Suspended solids in seawater had lower values or reached a permitted threshold level.

From 2015 until now, some water quality parameters such as COD, NO3-, NH4+, PO43-, coliforms and total oil have met the national standards for swimming and water sports activities.

Over recent years, a large volume of wastewater from the drainage systems along coastal streets in the city has been discharged directly into the sea once it rains.  This has been mainly attributed to the rapid urban growth on the eastern side of the city and the asynchronous development of technical infrastructure.  These reasons resulted in the ineffective wastewater management.

Mr Dang Quang Vinh, Head of the municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, said that during heavily rainy days, inspectors from the municipal Department of Natural Resources and the Environment collected wastewater samples from 11 sluice gates on the eastern side of the city and at the Da Nang Bay for testing.  The results of the tests showed that the quality parameters of wastewater which were discharged directly from the drainage systems into the sea were within allowable limits.

Director of the Department Le Quang Nam remarked “In the next 5 years, wastewater collection and treatment system will be developed synchronously.  A new wastewater collection system will be built on the eastern side of the city.  The focus will be on controlling the discharge of wastewater from ships operating at sea, and installing warning signs and automatic monitoring systems along coastal areas in order to ensure the safety of locals and visitors.”