PORT DICKSON: A total of 34 hotels and high-rise condominiums in the resort town here have yet to connect their sewerage systems to the Sunggala and Port Dickson centralised modern sewers operated by Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), although both facilities have been operating since 2008, says exco member S. Veerapan.
He added that only 11 hotels and condominium complexes here had done so.
“We want them to get connected to the central system soon so that their waste can be properly treated. Although they have their individual treatment systems, we want them to send their waste to the centralised facilities so that they will stop discharging their treated waste into the sea.
“Hotels and high-rise condos in Port Dickson should comply with the relevant legislation to ensure the operation of the premises complies with the law and does not affect the environment,” he said here yesterday.
Veerapan added this requirement was also in line with provisions under the Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009.
When asked why the property owners did not comply with the ruling, he said the owners were probably under the impression that their internal facilities were good enough to treat waste generated at their premises.
“The two facilities at Sunggala and Port Dickson are modern and meet the waste treatment standards set by the authorities. But Port Dickson is a popular tourism destination and we cannot risk having polluted beaches,” he said.
Veerapan said property owners can also reduce their cost by shutting down their internal treatment plants if they connect them to any of the two modern facilities.
Veerapan, who is in charge of climate change, human resources, entrepreneurship, cooperatives and consumerism affairs, said the Department of Environment had issued compound notices to owners of 12 such properties since 2023 after it was found that their treated waste did not comply with the minimum treatment standards before being discharged into the sea.
