BUKIT MERTAJAM: Residents of Taman Jasa Intan in Alma are concerned over blackened water and dead tilapia at a retention pond, believed to be linked to pollution from nearby vacant land after heavy rain.
Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim’s assistant Bernard Cheen visited the site on Monday (May 18) with Seberang Prai City Council (MBSP) officers and Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) personnel after receiving complaints from residents.
Former residents’ association chairman EC Ang said residents noticed many tilapia floating in the retention pond at Lorong Jasa Intan 5 on Saturday (May 16), before the fish gradually died and the water turned black.
He said a nearby plot of vacant land had long been waterlogged, with stagnant black water emitting a foul smell.
Residents believed the polluted water flowed into the housing area drains and eventually into the retention pond after recent heavy rain.
Cheen said he still detected a sewage-like smell when visiting the site on Sunday (May 17).
He proposed two remedial measures to the city council – sandbags along the drain between the vacant land and housing area, or rebuilding a bund to prevent water from flowing into the residential drains.
He said the original bund had allegedly been covered during earthworks, causing worse flooding and water accumulation.
"The city council has issued a stop-work order over the illegal earthworks," he added.
Cheen said IWK personnel also found cracks on a wall near its facilities, believed to be caused by nearby earthworks.
He added that the fish deaths could also be linked to oxygen depletion caused by blue-green algae, fertiliser runoff, or pesticides from nearby agricultural land.
"At this stage, the actual cause of the fish deaths cannot be confirmed," he said.
He added that residents had lodged similar complaints over foul smells in February, but sampling was only conducted near the IWK facility and not on the stagnant water at the vacant lot.
