KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — The East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) project developer has been given two months to complete repair works on the riverbank, slope stabilisation, and works to cover exposed slopes, as well as slope maintenance, along Sungai Ampang near here to prevent river pollution.
Selangor Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Orang Asli Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said monitoring by the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) and the Selangor Environment Department (DOE) found that there was still river pollution in the Ampang Recreational Forest near the intake for the Ampang Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
“Thus far, there is still pollution but at an acceptable level. However, if the water turbidity reading reaches 1,000 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit) and causes the Ampang WTP operations to be suspended, stricter action will be taken including adopting the Luas Enactment (Amendment) 2020 which was approved in November last year,” he told reporters after conducting a visit to the EKVE project site at WTP Ampang here, today.
Hee said for the record, the Ampang WTP, which supplies 19 million litres of water daily to the surrounding population, was suspended 75 times last year compared with 119 times in 2019, due to turbidity of Sungai Ampang with readings exceeding 1,000 NTU.
According to Selangor DOE, the project is still under a stop-work order effective October 13 last year, and the developer is prohibited from carrying out earthworks and construction until the order is lifted.
During the period, the developer is only allowed to carry out repair works on the riverbank, slope stabilisation, and works to cover exposed slopes as well as slope maintenance near Sungai Ampang that collapsed due to groundwater pressure.
Meanwhile, Hee said that the developer involved was fined RM100,000 in 2017 and RM165,000 in 2019 after the company was found to have caused pollution to Sungai Ampang.
Apart from that, he said that the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) also issued a compound of RM500,000 against the party involved in October last year for violating the land clearing law due to work being done carelessly and excessively, resulting in pollution.
On February 19, Bernama reported that construction work on the EKVE project was identified as the source of murky water flowing from Sungai Ampang in Ampang Recreational Forest, Selangor, near the Ampang WTP intake, before flowing into Sungai Klang in the capital, due to uncontrolled land clearing.
— Bernama
