PBAPP denies effluents released into Sungai Kulim affected treated water quality

GEORGE TOWN: Effluents discharged into Sungai Air Merah, which feeds into Sungai Kulim, a few days ago have not affected the quality of locally treated water, Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) said today.

PBAPP chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said there was no significant change in the quality of the treated water due to the discharge of farm waste into Sungai Kulim.

“Over the past 10 days, the results of PBAPP’s tests have not revealed any major violation of the water test parameters set by the Health Ministry,” he said in a statement.

Several news outlets reported that waste from a poultry farm had been discharged directly into the two rivers over the weekend.

State Agrotechnology, Food Security and Cooperative Development Committee chairman Fahmi Zainol said last Monday that a duck breeding farm in Sungai Lembu had discharged farm waste into the river directly through its drainage system. Pathmanathan said Sungai Kulim is a raw water resource that is tapped to refill the Expanded Mengkuang Dam (EMD) and produce treated water daily at the Bukit Toh Allang Water Treatment Plant in Seberang Perai Utara. He said PBAPP conducts water quality tests jointly with the Penang Health Department to ensure PBAPP’s treated water complies with the Quality Assurance Programme (QAP) parameters set by the Health Ministry.

“We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring water quality,” he said.

Pathmanathan assured consumers that PBAPP will report any water quality issues detected, adding that Sungai Kulim is an important raw water resource that is pumped to refill the 86.4 billion litre EMD during wet seasons.

Raw water from the river is also abstracted daily for treatment at the Bukit Toh Allang WTP in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU), he said.

“This WTP produces 40 million litres of water per day (MLD) which is supplied to 17,462 water consumers nearby,” he said.

He said PBAPP needs access to clean raw water resource to consistently produce treated water to its consumers in the states