BY: ELIzABETH WONG
SHAH ALAM, OCT 10: The Pahang Department of Environment must review its earlier position of “No-Pollution in Sungai Semantan” and take action on the source.
Today the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) representatives and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd’s (Air Selangor) river surveillance team have identified the source of pollution in Bentong, Pahang. Unfortunately, the teams were not able to enter the suspected premises as Pahang Department of Environment (DOE) officials were not present during the inspection this morning.
The Air Selangor team has been conducting the investigation to identify the source of pollution since Friday (7 October 2016) night in Pahang. The source of pollution was identified at the discharge point of a suspected factory and at the river. Water samples from the premises discharge point and the river have been taken by both parties. The odour detected was similar to that found at the Sungai Serai Outlet Portal and Sungai Langat Intake on Friday night. Today the odour was pervasive with levels as high as 18 TON (Threshold Odour Number).
The Pahang DOE Director may claim that water sent to Selangor is pollution-free but the preliminary test results and also today’s inspection revealed otherwise. The preliminary test results of the water samples collected on 7 and 8 October 2016 at the Sungai Serai Outlet Portal detected the presence of Teradecane, Pentadecane and Hexadecane, which are compounds that contribute to the unusual odour in the raw water. The Sungai Serai Outlet Portal is the entry point to Selangor through a dedicated pipeline pumped from the Semantan River intake point.
Unusual smell is always an indicator that there is presence of certain compounds not usually found in raw water. As such, as a precautionary measure, Air Selangor had to shut down the Langat and Cheras water treatment plants on Friday night. Both water treatment plants will resume abstraction of raw water from the Semantan River in Pahang as soon as the pollution issue is resolved. Currently, both Langat and Cheras Water Treatment Plant are abstracting raw water released from the Langat Dam.
The preliminary results and also information from today’s inspection including the name of the suspected factory have been conveyed to Pahang DOE.
We urge DOE Pahang to review their position of “no-pollution in Sungai Semantan” and in particular to inspect the suspected factory in Bentong thoroughly. We also thank SPAN for its inspection today and further urge that they assist Selangor by taking its own actions on the premises.
If the odour pollution persists, the Pahang-Selangor Water Transfer Project will not be able to proceed as we are unable to use water from Sungai Semantan.
On the overall recovery status of water supply in Hulu Langat; Zone 1 is 88% and Zone 2 is 100%, whilst Kuala Lumpur Zone 1 is 58% and Zone 2 is 70%. Relief water supply will continue to be delivered by water tankers to affected areas.
Consumers are urged to use water supply prudently during this period to accelerate the full recovery.
To avoid congestion at SYABAS call center, consumers are advised to download the “mySYABAS” smartphone application or visit www.syabas.com.my to get more information on the water supply status.
Source of Semantan River odour pollution identified in Bentong, Pahang
