Recurring problem: Residents of USJ 4 Subang Jaya collecting water from Syabas’ static water pipe at USJ 3A/1.
PETALING JAYA: Manholes of the sewerage network in Bandar Bukit Mahkota will be permanently sealed to prevent them from being used as a point for illegal dumping.
The dumping of scheduled waste into manholes in the lowly populated Bandar Bukit Mahkota had forced the closure of the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant twice in three months, affecting more than 1.5 million residents in several districts.
Just last week, oily residue was found in a Bukit Mahkota manhole, which Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) confirmed to be the source of odour pollution that forced the shutdown of the Sungai Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi water treatment plants, as well as the Bandar Bukit Mahkota sewage treatment plant, on Saturday.
Selangor Environment, Green Technogy, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Consumer Affairs committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) had agreed to permanently seal the 20 manholes near its sewage treatment plant in Bandar Bukit Mahkota.
“This plant is located close to the industrial area, near the Negri Sembilan border.
“We need to put up CCTV cameras in the area to monitor suspicious movements. I have directed IWK and the Kajang Municipal Council to keep this area guarded round-the-clock.
“We also hope the police would also monitor this area to ensure there are no intruders, ” he said.
On Sept 28, the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant was shut down for 10 hours following odour pollution that was also traced to the manhole in Bandar Bukit Mahkota.
The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) said stern action will be taken against those responsible for dumping waste into manholes.
Span said action will be taken under the Water Services Industry Act 2006 to serve as a deterrent as the culprits had caused taps to run dry, affecting 1.5 millions residents in Hulu Langat, Sepang, Putrajaya, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Langat.
“After completing investigations, the case will be forwarded to the public prosecutor for further action, ” SPAN said in a statement yesterday.
Other than two water treatment plants, IWK’s Bukit Mahkota sewage treatment plant was also forced to shut down, pending activities to remove the source of odour from manholes in the vicinity.
“SPAN and all relevant parties, including Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS), the Environment Department, Air Selangor, and IWK have taken steps to rectify the problem to ensure the affected treatment plants will be up and running as soon as possible, ” said the statement.
SPAN will also hold a meeting with relevant agencies today to discuss preventive measures to check illegal waste dumping to prevent threats to water treatment plants in future.
“After completing investigations, the case will be forwarded to the public prosecutor for further action, ” added the statement.
Air Selangor said the closure affected 336,930 account holders in 366 locations in Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, and Sepang.
LUAS said work to pump out the waste from the manholes are ongoing, with water samples collected at Sungai Beranang and near Mahkota 2 Drive showing a reading of 3 on the Threshold Odour Number (TON), while samples collected in Jenderam Hilir was at 2 TON.
LUAS said the treatment plants will only resume operations when the TON is at zero (no detectable odour).
