GEORGE TOWN: Two channels will be dug to allow sea water to "naturally cleanse" the smelly black water at the stream near the Floating Mosque in Tanjung Bungah.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) would start work on the channels tomorrow and be completed within five days.
The channels are expected to cut across the sand bank near the mosque.
Speaking to reporters during his visit to the mosque yesterday, Lim said he hoped the channels would help solve the problem for the time being.
"With the two channels, sea water will be able to flow in (during high tide) and take the water out to the sea during low tide to clean it naturally.
"I was told that the problem does not occur during the end of the year because the tide is higher compared to the first few months of the year.
"When the tide is higher, this allows the sea water to flow over the sand bank and clean the stream," he said.
Lim said a 'rubbish trap' would also be installed at the mouth of the channels to stop rubbish from flowing into the sea.
He added that the two channels would only be a temporary measure and the state government was planning to remove the whole sand bank.
"We need to wait for a study by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) because they are worried that it may affect the area's ecological environment," he said adding that it was also important to find the source of the problem.
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