Mulling the future of Malaysia’s fast deteriorating rivers

KUALA LUMPUR: The World Rivers Day has been celebrated every last Sunday of September since 2005. Malaysia and 59 other countries in the world are celebrating the day by organising a number of activities to raise public awareness on the importance of rivers to human lives.

Rivers have been a major source of our drinking water supply and they are also vital for agriculture, transportation and as a source of income. However, the rapid development and growth of cities, industrial areas, economy and trade activities have resulted in the deterioration of rivers. Many of the rivers today, especially those in cities, are turbid, smelly and filled with garbage. The water quality is bad with most at Class 3 and some even at Class 5.

Malaysian rivers are said to be in critical condition mostly because they are the dumping ground of industrial waste. The media has previously reported that 229 of 473 rivers in the country are now polluted. The deterioration in quality is a reflection of Malaysian attitude and their lack of awareness of the importance of rivers and the correct methods of disposing solid waste.

Every year, hundreds of tonnes of rubbish are extracted from rivers nationwide. Deforestation and changing land use such as the conversion of forests into oil palm plantations, particularly, have adversely impacted the water quality in rivers. The high volume of total suspended solids (TSS) have resulted in turbid rivers.

This is the case with Kelantan’s two main tributaries, Sungai Galas and Sungai Lebir. The opening of oil palm plantations have resulted in turbidity and high level of TSS at the lower part of Sungai Kelantan all year round, including during drought and monsoon seasons.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) water expert Prof Dr Maketab Mohamad said the situation was due to the actions of government agencies and water supply companies that were more concerned about water quantity than the quality of water requiring treatment. He said this, among others, was the reason that the source of water was not properly taken care of.

“The only part of the river that is taken care of is upstream but once you reach downstream, you can see how bad the river condition is,” said Maketab, who is also UTM’s director of Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Unit. He said that treated water should be taken only from sources that are at Class 1 or at Class 2A, based on the National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia.

“Unfortunately, most of the source of raw water are at Class 3 and sometimes even Class 4. This is especially true of the TSS parameter during the monsoon season,” he claimed.

The lack of new policy or regulations to remedy the situation have also resulted in high levels of TSS in many Malaysian rivers, especially downstream.

Maketab said that the state government had absolute authority on the land, forest and water in the state but certain quarters were willing to sacrifice precious water catchment areas and forests for personal gains, despite the impact on water quantity and quality in the state. He said that rivers are a dynamic system that are sensitive to change and could transform its ‘functions’ because of surrounding land use.

“It can cause tributaries to become filled in while bigger rivers will become shallow due to erosion and sedimentation,” he explained. He believed that better forest and land management – through the replanting of trees in water catchment areas and the implementation of buffer zones – could rectify the damage.

“However, it is an effort that would take time,” he said.

Among the best and most effective method to rehabilitate the rivers in Malaysia is by instilling awareness in the importance of environmental care, including the conservation of rivers.

This awareness has to be taught from young as has been practised in countries like Denmark, which teaches environmental care from pre-school level.

The federal and state governments as well as related agencies such as the Department of Environment, the Irrigation and Drainage Department, the local governments and the Education Ministry need to plan out a curriculum that provides early exposure to environmental care.

Environmental awareness needs to be taught continually from the preschool to the university level. It is time that the authorities take stock of the situation as well as the necessary measures to ensure that rivers and water catchments are free of pollution. It is not too late for us to rehabilitate our rivers for our sake and those of the coming generations. — Bernama