PETALING JAYA: Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) has denied that its sewage treatment plant in Rawang discharged effluent into Sungai Gong, causing the river to turn black on Saturday(Sept 19).
IWK chief executive officer Narendran Maniam (pic) said this in response to a statement by the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) that a foamy and coloured effluent from an IWK plant was detected in the river.
“This statement (by Luas) will confuse people and, at the same time, point the finger of blame towards IWK when the real cause is probably due to illegal dumping of waste, ” said Narendran in a statement on Sunday (Sept 20).
IWK suspected that an illegal waste disposal occurred near its plant, causing the material to flow into the plant, he added.
He said an IWK staff at its Rawang Integrated Industrial Park sewage treatment plant had identified a yellow, non-sewage waste discharged into the plant’s inlet chamber, causing effluent at the final process to be contaminated with a deep yellow colour.
Narendran added that IWK staff stopped the effluent discharge due to this and added that the cleaning process would be completed by Sunday.
The plant in question is an oxidation ditch plant which is connected to 11,106 residents, covering only the industrial area.
“Sewage treatment plants are only designed to treat wastewater and are not capable of treating chemicals or other waste illegally discharged into the sewer pipeline, ” he said.
Narendran said that IWK also expressed its frustration at being made “an easy target” for any water pollution incidents without the facts being checked first.
“IWK always ensures that the operation and maintenance work at all 7,000 plants under the supervision of IWK are always in accordance with the specifications and procedures set by the authorities.
“Non-sewage waste is often put into sewer chambers by irresponsible parties. So, it is better for all parties to work together in addressing the issue of actual pollution, ” added Narendran.
Disposal of non-sewage waste was an offence under the Water Services Industry Act 2006, he added.
