Sungai Buah pollution has lasted too long for it to be an accident, says Junaidi

Water from Sungai Buah has been stopped from flowing into Sungai Semenyih where the water treatment plant is located.

KUCHING: A joint investigation into the source and cause of pollution in Sungai Buah, which flows into the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant, will be carried out soon.

Bernama quoted Natural Resour­ces and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar as saying that he had directed the Department of Environment (DoE) to conduct a probe with the Selangor government.

The water contamination has affected more than a million consumers in the Klang Valley.

“Those responsible must be identified and brought to book.

“We have a number of laws to deal with the culprits such as the Local Government Ordinance, DoE laws and regulations and others with heavier penalties for such offences,” he said after distributing RM173,500 in grants to 70 groups in Santubong here yesterday.

Dr Wan Junaidi said he believed the pollution was not an accident as the problem had persisted for the past few days.

“Whether the people or factory owners are careless, ignorant or not concerned at all about the impact of discharging their waste water into the river... we will get to the root of this.

“However, we will only investigate and then refer our findings to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to decide on the prosecution,” he said.

Dr Wan Junaidi said he had received numerous reports on the situation in Sungai Buah, said to be due to pollution discharges from industrial areas in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.

On Thursday, Selangor state exco member Elizabeth Wong said the substance contaminating Sungai Buah was 4-Bromodiphenyl ether, which is normally used as a fire retardant.

In Klang, Wong said water was now free of the substance after 10 tonnes of activated carbon was placed at the source of the contamination in Nilai, as well as in Sungai Buah in Negri Sembilan.

“The compound has bonded to the activated carbon. The river water now records zero reading in the Threshold Odour Number.

“However, the contaminated water at the source of the pollution in Nilai is still there and is being diverted to a nearby pond to be treated,” she added.

Wong said two more bunds were also being constructed to contain the overflow onsite and to treat the water.

Authorities had earlier built a bund across Sungai Buah to stop the water from flowing into Sungai Semenyih but it gave way after a heavy downpour on Friday, forcing the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant to cease operations at 4.15pm.

“We are building these bunds because if it rains heavily in Nilai, there will be too much volume and pressure on the existing bund,” she said, adding that activated carbon would also be placed at these bunds.

Wong also accused the water authorities in Negri Sembilan of refusing to help clean the source of pollution in Nilai.