WATER RESOURCE LAW TO TACKLE POLLUTION
Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry also taking other approaches to boost environmental conservation
THE Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry is drafting a uniform and comprehensive Water Resource Bill to clamp down on water pollution.
Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the bill will empower all states to enhance the management, control and enforcement of water resources.
He said the new legislation would also be a guide for discussions and coordination on issues involving water resources that are shared by two or more states.
Jayakumar said pollution was harder to tackle when it involves multiple parties.
“This proposed law requires the support and acceptance of all state governments to ensure issues such as river pollution can be handled uniformly and effectively.
“The ministry is holding consultations with state governments on the implementation of this bill,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Jayakumar said the bill was among the initiatives taken by the government to address the problem of water resource pollution nationwide.
He was responding to Berita Harian’s exclusive report on Sunday that quoted Water Quality and Modelling specialist Dr Zaki Zainudin as saying there were no efforts to save or rehabilitate more than 20 rivers classified under Class Three.
The rivers, he said in the report, needed intensive treatment or would likely end up dead soon. These rivers were suffering the same fate as Sungai Kim Kim in Johor.
Jayakumar said aside from the new law, the ministry had also undertaken other initiatives including implementing structural approaches and non-structural approaches.
He said the ministry, through the Irrigation and Drainage Department, had taken structural approaches such as building infrastructure to treat the river water and also installing log booms at several main rivers.
As for non-structural approaches, he said the ministry had launched the Integrated River Basin Management strategy.
The strategy was aimed at ensuring that water was adequate and clean, decreasing flood risks and improving environmental conservation.
Jayakumar said based on Environmental Quality Report 2017, 32 rivers were classified as contaminated.
This was out of 417 rivers monitored by the Environment Department.
As land and water resources, including, rivers were under the jurisdiction of the state governments, he said law enforcement also fell under them.
“All states have their own laws regarding water resources, including on prohibition against pollution.
“The cooperation of the state government in carrying out law enforcement or state enactments is crucial in protecting the rivers in those states,” he said.
Jayakumar added that all stakeholders must also be involved in efforts to conserve and preserve the quality of river water, as there were adverse consequences should water resources continue to be polluted.