‘PROHIBITED WASTE PUT INTO MANHOLES’
Non-sewage waste polluted Sungai Gong, says National Water Services Commission
TH E N a t i o n a l Wa t e r Services Commission (SPAN) has confirmed the discharge of prohibited waste into manholes around Sungai Gong, Rawang, as one of the causes of the river’s pollution.
SPAN said it had carried out an operation with the Environment Department and Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) on Thursday to detect the disposal of prohibited waste.
Four manholes were inspected and wastewater samples from them were taken for testing to detect traces of prohibited waste.
“The operation found evidence of prohibited waste released into the manholes.”
On Sept 19, the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) received a report of blackish water from Sungai Gong.
No smell was emitted from the use of dyes, but after an investigation was conducted, Luas found coloured and foamy effluent being discharged from IWK’s GBK 134, Area 5 sewage treatment plant in the Rawang industrial area.
SPAN said that on Sept 19, IWK staff at the Rawang Integrated Industrial Park Sewage Treatment Plant identified the entry of yellow non-sewage waste into the plant’s inlet chamber, which caused IWK to stop the effluent discharge and carry out a cleaning operation.
The plant is a type of “oxidation ditch” with a capacity of 11,106 population-equivalent covering the industrial area.
SPAN said the sewage treatment plant was designed to treat only wastewater and was not capable of treating any chemical pollution or other type of waste illegally discharged into the sewer pipeline.
“The disposal of non-sewage waste is an offence under Section 61 of the Water Services Industry Act 2006. SPAN takes seriously the dumping or discharge of nonwastewater into or through the sewerage system by any party, including industries, as it is a criminal act,” it said.