17,000 households in Kulai go dry after ammonia pollution in Sungai Sayong

JOHOR BARU: High-level of ammonia pollution in Sungai Sayong has disrupted water supply to about 17,000 households in Kulai.

Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said a reservoir at a bio-composite centre next to an oil palm refinery in Sedenak burst, causing the ammonia-contaminated water to flow into Sungai Sayong, which is one of the creeks that supplies raw water to Sungai Johor.

Puah, who is also Bukit Batu assemblyman, said the incident occurred at around 7am on Wednesday (April 3).

“At around 6.30pm, both the Sayong 1 and Sayong 2 water treatment plants, had to be shut down as it could not process the raw water due to high levels of ammonia,” he said in a statement Thursday (April 4).

He said as a result, around 5.30am and 11.30am on Thursday, the Semanggar and Sungai Johor water treatment plants had to be shut down.

Puah added that the Tai Hong water treatment plant, which is operated by the Public Utility Board (PUB), also ceased operations.

He said the authorities have taken the necessary action against the oil palm refinery by cancelling its raw water abstraction licence and serve a compound notice following the incident.

“The Johor government will not compromise over the incident and the Johor Water Regulatory Body (Bakaj) has cancelled its water abstraction licence with immediate affect,” he added.

Puah said that Kulai was the only affected area, adding that the water supply would be restored fully at about 10pm on Thursday.