Diesel pollution detected, four water treatment plants shut down

PETALING JAYA: Consumers who were affected by the recent water cuts may brace for further dry taps as diesel pollution in Sungai Selangor has forced further shutdowns of four water treatment plants.

Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) announced the shut down of Sungai Selangor Phase 1, 2 and 3 Water Treatment Plants and the Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plant on Sunday (July 21).

"SSP1, SSP2 and SSP3 Water Treatment Plants as well as the Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plant were shut down on Sunday after we detected diesel from the raw water of Sungai Selangor.

"Rantau Panjang plant was shut down at 6pm while the three phases of SSP were shut down between 8pm and 8.15pm," said Air Selangor Customer Relation and Communication Department head Abdul Raof Ahmad in a statement on Sunday.

He said that Syabas has reported the contamination to the authorities and found the source of pollution from sand dredging works upstream.

"We are working as fast as we can but we are unable to ascertain the restoration period should the raw water pollution incident recur.

"We are on standby to face any similar incidents as what has happened today," he said, adding that the list of affected areas is the same as previously listed.

Consumers are urged to refer to the Air Selangor app, www.syabas.com.my, and Air Selangor Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates and information.

A total of 1,133 areas in the Klang Valley involving 1,166,842 customer accounts in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat were affected by the unscheduled water supply disruption on Friday (July 19).

Three plants had to be shut down due to odour pollution in the Sungai Selangor raw water source.

Following the incident, the plan for improvement works at the Sungai Selangor Phase 1 Water Treatment Plant scheduled for Tuesday (July 23) had to be postponed.