SHAH ALAM – Tens of million of ringgit will be used to mitigate water contamination in Selangor after several major supply disruptions this year.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state will implement a system that allows water from the rivers to be diverted from the water treatment plants as soon as pollution is detected – clean water can then be channelled from other sources.
“At the moment, when there is pollution, the water will enter into our treatment plants. We will have no choice but to shut them down, leading to the unscheduled supply disruptions.
“If we can block polluted waters from our plants, and divert clean and treated ones from our existing reservoirs, then water supply will not be disrupted. In fact, we have enough water in our off-river storage to last three to five days,” he said in a press conference today.
Amirudin said for this to be implemented, the state will have to install new piping and pump systems to allow water to be channelled to the treatment plants, which may require up to a year to be completed.
He said, similarly by the end of next year, the state is expected to be able to deodorise odour pollution in the rivers, using advanced technology, but did not elaborate further.
Amirudin said these decisions were made at the Selangor executive councillor meeting today, following the spate of water pollution incidents in the state.
In the immediate term, he said the state has instructed its water authorities – Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and Lembaga Urus Air Selangor – to hire more officers to be stationed on the ground for the monitoring of the rivers.
At the moment, he said there are only about 20 people in charge of this duty.
“By employing more staff, the frequency of daily checks at the rivers will be increased, and this will ensure that pollution incidents can be detected faster,” he said.
This is in addition to the recent announcement by state executive councillor in charge of environment Hee Loy Sian that the state would be using drones to monitor the rivers and their surrounding areas.
Amirudin said the drones will also be used to identify any factories or premises that are in close proximity to the rivers, as well as having the capability to test water quality.
“We will be spending RM138 each day for the drones, which are able to cover more than 1,000 km at one time, and to provide analytical assessment of our waters.”
In addition to the decisions made at today’s meeting, Amirudin said the state intends to relocate factories that are deemed to be sitting too close to the rivers, which have a higher risk of contaminating the waters.
“We are committed to this relocation process. Efforts are ongoing, but we need a win-win solution, especially for factories that are operating legally and are huge contributors to our economy.”
He added that the state government is in the midst of identifying and shutting down factories that are operating illegally. – The Vibes, October 21, 2020
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