500,000 left high and dry

JOHOR BARU: A huge oil slick in Sungai Johor has caused a major water disruption, affecting almost 500,000 residents in three southern districts.

The spill forced the closure of the Semangar and Sungai Johor water treatment plants yesterday.

It was detected by sensors placed at the intakes of the plants, which has the capacity to supply 636 million litres of treated water per day.

The plants serve residents in Johor Baru, Kulaijaya and Nusajaya.

The previous oil spill in the area occurred several years ago but only necessitated the closing of the treatment plants for several hours.

Johor Rural and Regional Develop­ment Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said a multi-agency task force set up to handle the problem had put up water booms to prevent the slick from reaching intakes of the treatment plants.

“Luckily, we discovered the slick before it could enter the treatment plants. For safety reasons, we have shut down the plants until we can clear the oil spill in the river,” he said.

Hasni added that the spill was believed to be diesel-based and could have come from tyre burning, which produces oil as a by-product, in Felda Taib Andak in Kulai, some 15km from the intakes.

Asked when water supply would be restored, he said the next 24 hours would be critical for the clean-up effort.

Involved in the effort are Syarikat Air Johor (SAJ), the state water regulatory authority Bakaj, the Department of Environment, Health Department and the Land Office.

It is learnt that SAJ has mobilised at least 11 tankers to supply water to “critical places”, especially hospitals, in case the treatment plants take time to start operating again.

Hasni urged residents in the three districts to store water or contact the SAJ Info Centre hotline at 1800 88 7474, SMS 019-772 7474 or e-mail [e-mail] for assistance.