By Mustakim Ramli
SHAH ALAM, March 23 — The Environment Department’s report on the Water Quality Index of the state’s main rivers has confirmed them to be clean, said state executive councillor for the environment Hee Loy Sian.
As of March 1, the index for the Sungai Selangor Basin is 86, followed by Sungai Langat at 91, Sungai Tengi at 87 and Sungai Bernam at 93.
He said the other river basins in the state are at a moderate pollution level with an index rating between 62 to 78.
“The water’s situation can be treated by all 34 water treatment plants in Selangor, by adhering to the National Drinking Water Quality Standards as set by the Health Ministry before being distributed to consumers,” Hee said in a statement.
The councillor was responding to allegations that Sungai Selangor and Sungai Langat are faced with pollution risks in addition to containing chemical substances, as reported by local media on March 21 and March 22.
He added the state government via the Selangor Management Water Authority (Luas) is always focusing on all pollution control and water source quality conservation aspects, to ensure they remain clean and safe.
“It cannot be denied that water source pollution can occur at unexpected moments. Therefore with the formation of Luas’ Skuad Pantas on December 1, 2020, efforts have been successful in preventing the number of river pollution-related emergencies from rising.
“Based on last year’s monitoring records, instances of treatment plants having to halt operations due to emergencies resulting from water source pollution (Code Red) have been successfully reduced, with only two issues concerning Sungai Semenyih last year compared to 11 issues which resulted in halted operations in 2020,” Hee said.
