White foam spotted on Skudai River perturbs residents

JOHOR BARU: The appearance of white foam floating on the Skudai River has caused anxiety among residents here.

Safe Johor River founder Poh Pai Yik said a resident alerted him about the sighting near Taman Impian Emas in Skudai on Saturday (May 7).

"I went to the scene with the Skudai assemblyman the next day and found most of the foam had been washed away after a bout of heavy rain so I could not obtain any samples.

"Based on the video footage sent by the resident, the foam could have been released by nearby factories that used bleach to wash items but it could also be something that was produced by the aqualife in the river," he said in an interview on Monday (May 9).

He uploaded the video on his Facebook page where white foam clusters could be seen floating on the brown-coloured water of the river.

Poh said no dead fish were found during his observation of the area and added there were no chemical factories operating along that stretch of the Skudai River to his knowledge.

He added the river was among the most polluted ones in the country.

The pollution at the Skudai River was also previously reported to have affected the Sultan Ismail Water Treatment Plant (LRA).

Meanwhile, when contacted, Johor Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said he visited the site with the state Environment Department (DOE) on Monday (May 9) morning to assess and investigate the matter.

He said a water sample obtained from the Sultan Ismail LRA indicated a safe pH reading of 7 and dissolved oxygen level of 4.95.

"According to the LRA management, the foam clusters found on the river did not affect the facility’s operations.

"The DOE and I will investigate the matter to identify the source of the pollution, whether it is from the premises operating along the river," he said, urging the public to report any cases of pollution to the DOE via its toll-free hotline [phone] or email to [e-mail]