Work on Semenyih 2 to start soon

ONE hundred million litres a day.

This is the volume of water the Semenyih 2 water treatment plant in Dengkil, will produce upon its scheduled completion by December 2017.

Commissioned by Selangor government, the plant will serve some 100,000 consumers in Semenyih, Beranang, parts of Hulu Langat and new developments along the Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas).

Nor Azmie (third from left) and Azmin (fourth from right) at the ground-breaking ceremony.

Tenaga Tiub Sdn Bhd, the appointed contractor behind the RM180mil project, was chosen through open tender.

Formed in 1988, the company has ISO9001 accreditation and is established as a design-and-build contractor for water and effluent treatment plants.

Among the projects it has undertaken is the refurbishment of the Kelar water treatment plant in Kelantan which produces 10 million litres of treated water per day.

The company is also involved in engineering design, supply and installation of all tanks, process pumps, piping and electrical works for a 20 million litre per day raw water treatment plant for a newsprint mill.

“We are still reviewing the concept of the new plant but the main aim is to ensure the facility is able to produce potable water from the river,” said a Tenaga Tiub spokesman.

The company’s work scope in this project will include building a water intake in Sungai Langat, a raw water pumping station, public works for the retention tanks, the building of a water plant, installation of water pipes, the Desa Putra pond and a pressure booster station.

Deputy state secretary (development) Nor Azmie Diron said the project would concentrate on three components – sustainable raw water supply, reliable water treatment and distribution of treated water to consumers.

The plant will bank on water retention at the downstream of Sungai Langat to reduce dependency on the usage of dam water at the river head.

Sustainability studies carried out by consultants Seni Associates and SMHB have also showed that the presence of three existing ponds surrounding the water treatment plant in Semenyih can be used as off river storage (ORS).

At the moment, the flow of water from Sungai Langat is 230mil litres a day and the Semenyih 2 water treatment scheme will only require 20mil litres of water a day.

The operating cost of the plant is 20sen per square metre.

Monitoring the project is the Selangor Economic Planning Unit (Upen), which has classified it as “critical”.

It will ensure the contractor meets the deadline and Upen has warned Tenaga Tiub that it will not compromise on quality in terms of engineering integrity, building structure and operational systems.

In addition to Semenyih 2, the state is also planning to build a water treatment plant in Banting with a capacity of 400mil litres of water a day to cover Sijangkang, Banting and Teluk Panglima Garang.

The two projects are part of Selangor’s efforts to increase water reserves by 15%.

At present, water reserves stand at 4% but the rate of water usage demand is rising by 3.5% annually.

Semenyih 2 and the plant in Banting (Labohan Dagang) will cost a total of RM778mil and are expected to provide sufficient supply of treated water to parts of Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the Semenyih 2 and Labohan Dagang water treatment plants were “quick-fix” measures to increase temporary water supply as the Langat 2 water treatment plant scheduled for completion in 2017 would be delayed till 2019.

“I hope consumers will not think it is okay to take 10 baths a day with the existence of our new water treatment plants,” Azmin said in his speech.

Reminding the people not to take the gift of nature for granted, Azmin said awareness and education programmes were vital in ensuring water conservation and sustainability.

He emphasised that the harvesting of rainwater was a crucial part of the exercise.

“Climate change is one factor that has affected water supply in many South-East Asian countries and if we continue to waste and pollute our water reserves, it will be a matter of time before we experience critical water shortage,” he said.

At present, statistics show a large percentage of treated water is wasted on washing cars and laundry.

Azmin said this should not be the case as treated water was meant for drinking and cooking.

He also highlighted a report by World Resource Institute which named Malaysia as one of the Top 10 countries that would face the biggest drop in water security between 2020 and 2040 if steps are not taken to mitigate the situation.