Five water treatment plants shut down due to ammonia pollution fully operational

JOHOR BARU:  Five water treatment plants that have been shut down due to high level of ammonia pollution along Sungai Sayong and Sungai Johor are now up and running again.

The five plants are Sayong 1 and Sayong 2, Semanggar, Sungai Johor and Tai Hong, which is managed by Public Utilities Board (PUB).

Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said even though the plants were fully operational, the water supply to the affected areas would still take some time to be at full capacity.

He pointed out that the Tai Hong water treatment plant, which begin operations on 11pm on Friday (April 5), could only supply treated water to residents here, starting at 6am on Saturday (April 6) in stages.

Puah said that as of 4pm on Saturday, about 24,713 Ranhill SAJ accounts, or almost 123,565 users were still affected from the pollution.

“Most of the area around here started to get their water supply, except for Kempas, Taman Bukit Indah and Taman Desa Cemerlang.

“The state government, through Johor Water Regulatory Body (Bakaj) and Ranhill SAJ, is working to restore water as normal to consumers,” he added.

Puah urged those that still affected by the incident to be patient, as water would be fully restored by Saturday tonight.

On Wednesday (April 3), high levels of ammonia pollution were detected in Sungai Sayong following an incident that happened at a biocomposite centre next to an oil palm factory in Sedenak at around 7am.

A reservoir had burst, causing the ammonia-contained water to flow into Sungai Sayong, which is one of the creeks that supplies raw water to Sungai Johor.

The Sayong 1 and Sayong 2 water treatment plants have to be shut down, as it could not process raw water to be treated due to high levels of ammonia.

The closure of the five water treatment plants have caused a disruption on water supply to three districts - Johor Baru, Kulai and parts of Kota Tinggi.