KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) will be tasked with ensuring that local councils manage the quality of effluent flowing into drains, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof (pic).
The Deputy Prime Minister said this is part of efforts to improve river water quality.
Speaking after chairing the second Special Committee Meeting to Address the Decline in the Quality of National River Water for 2025 here yesterday, Fadillah said the meeting gathered all relevant federal and state authorities to jointly improve river water quality using a multi-sectorial and multi-stakeholder approach.
The agencies included the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim), the Department of Environment (DOE), and the Irrigation and Drainage Department.
He said strategic measures are expected to significantly improve river water quality, protect environmental sustainability, safeguard public health and support national economic development in the face of climate change and global pollution challenges.
“Local authorities will be introduced to ways to keep pollutants out of rivers using various screening or filtration methods available,” added Fadillah, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister (Petra).
In a statement later, the ministry said the meeting studied the National River Quality Report 2024 from the DOE, which monitors 672 rivers.
Of this, 475 (71%) rivers were in the “clean” category, 170 (25%) moderate with 27 (4%) in the polluted category.
It said the meeting also proposed a new standard for discharges from urban and rural areas based on Nahrim’s work, to be enforced by local authorities by looking at 11 parameters such as effluent pH (acidity of the discharge), oil and grease and mercury.
“Workshops will be conducted to educate local authorities on standards for discharges into drains and canals before flowing into the riverine network, and KPKT will coordinate such action with the relevant ministry and state governments,” the statement added.
Petra said state governments have also been urged to use locally developed technology, such as those developed by Nahrim.
In April last year, Fadillah said devices equipped with AI will also be employed to monitor and enhance river quality.
