Cambodia Blocks Nearly 20 Million Cubic Metres of Factory Wastewater in Nine Months

PHNOM PENH — Sept. 30, 2026: The Ministry of Environment has blocked approximately 19.7 million cubic metres of dirty liquid waste discharged from factories, enterprises and companies in the first nine months of 2026, as part of its "Clean Water Surface" campaign.

According to the Ministry, a total of 19,685,085 cubic metres of wastewater was intercepted between January and September 2026. In September alone, authorities blocked more than 2.22 million cubic metres.

The Ministry said its results stem from actively enforcing legal measures requiring company, factory and enterprise owners in Cambodia to install automatic wastewater quality monitoring systems, enabling remote, real-time tracking of wastewater quality. As of September 2026, 72 companies and factories had installed the systems, up from 56 at the end of 2025.

Ministry of Environment spokesperson H.E. Khvay Atitya said that under the reported figures, roughly 700,000 cubic metres of wastewater are blocked daily from flowing into natural water bodies, preventing pollution that could harm the environment and public health.

He thanked factory and enterprise owners who have complied with the law and contributed to cleaner water in Cambodia. He said the Ministry will continue to prevent liquid waste discharge that pollutes natural water, and will keep encouraging factories and enterprises with pollution potential to install automatic monitoring equipment — improving enforcement effectiveness and helping businesses manage their own wastewater in line with environmental standards and the Environment and Natural Resources Code, so that discharges do not affect the environment or people's livelihoods.

Source: Ministry of Environment

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cqo11hRPE/

Reported by The Khmer Today