KOTA KINABALU – Sugud villagers, who have been hard hit by recent floods, say that their water source has become polluted over the years.
Many of the residents have relied on the gravity-feed water source for decades from a nearby uphill area called Timpangoh.
Sugud, along with Timpangoh and Limbanak, are territories of eight indigenous communities and a major water catchment area.
Some of the villagers believe the pollution has been made worse by land-clearing activities in uphill areas that began about five years ago.
Geology expert Felix Tongkul told The Vibes that the forested area cleared for plantations could make the soil more prone to erosion.
“When landslides occur, soil, debris and rocks will be washed down by the rain, resulting in mud floods.
“This was not an ordinary flood (in Sugud) but more like those mud floods in Kota Belud and Ranau that occurred during the 2015 earthquake,” he said.
“I hope we can learn some lessons from this disaster and now that there are numerous landslides upstream, every time it rains, more mud will be washed down.”
Resident Simon Harry, 42, said floods were common in Sugud when he was growing up, but their severity has increased in recent years.
“I also noticed that some of the tributaries began drying up over time. This could possibly have caused the severe mud floods. There must be people or activities uphill that are causing the tributaries to dry up.”
He said houses built near the riparian reserves barely cause erosion but are most affected whenever it floods.
Another resident, Peter Michael, 40, agreed with Simon over the activities uphill.
He said many Sugud folk used to rely on the gravity-feed water, but its quality has deteriorated.
“The water used to be very, very clean but it became murky about five years ago.
“We had gone up to the area to investigate and were told that a government agency had opened up commercial planting on the other face of the hill.”
It is learnt that the Sabah Rubber Industries Board (SRIB) has opened up a rubber estate in the area. There are also other private ventures there.
“They had told us they would compensate for the damage to the gravity-feed pipes we installed in the local forest reserve, but the quality of the water did not change,” said Peter, adding that they have been forced to get treated water since.
Although the treated water system is good, he said it has raised the cost of living for them.
Resident Sebastian Andy, meanwhile, said some tributaries used to be filled with water but have dried up over the years.
“We relied on these small streams. But they are gone now. This suggests that some activities have been happening upstream.
“Or it could be some villagers expanding their houses and blocking the tributaries, causing them to dry up.”
He believes the tributaries are an important part of the riparian system that flushes the water into the sea in the adjacent district of Putatan.
Yesterday, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan had said a RM9 million flood mitigation project for Sugud will be expedited.
The project has been awarded and will be completed in three years’ time.
Saying the disaster was caused by climate change, he added that the RM9 million project will involve expanding the depth and width of the Sg Sugud by 1.13km. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021
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