Water sample results on lake pollution out soon

Yee (left) taking a closer look at the polluted water at Kepong Metropolitan Lake with Wong. — KAMARUL ARIFFIN/The Star

The test results for water samples taken from Kepong Metropolitan Lake in Kuala Lumpur following complaints of pollution there are expected to be out next week.

“Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers are in the midst of processing the samples to determine the cause of the pollution, ” said Kepong Community Service Centre head Yee Poh Ping during a press conference at the site.

This was not the first time the water body has been polluted as last month, dead fishes and an orange-tinted, oil-like substance were discovered on its surface.

DBKL cleaned up the lake and issued a compound to a company for discharging waste there.

“However, the water body has been polluted again and this time, a black, oil-like substance was found on the surface near the Taman Usahawan entrance.

“The lake is a flood retention pond, collecting water from areas in the north of Kuala Lumpur, including Selayang, ” Yee said.

Mizumi Residences project manager Wong Kok Hoe said oil booms had been installed at the water body as a precautionary measure to prevent any grease from contaminating the lake further.

“We have to constantly change the oil boom because of wear and tear as well as help clean the lake, ” he said.

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, who highlighted the pollution issue last month, suspected that the pollutants came from a pond in Taman Intan Baiduri.

“We investigated and found polluted water flowing through a tunnel underneath the Middle Ring Road 2 to the lake, ” he noted.

“The pond is surrounded by factories and I have raised this with DBKL.”