Consultants appointed to assess water quality at treatment plants

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THE Water Association of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has appointed two independent consultants to conduct comprehensive studies at the intake points of 10 treatment plants to evaluate water quality.

Its deputy president, V. Subramaniam, said the aim of the studies was to push for a positive action to protect the rivers from pollution.

“Our aim is to improve Selangor’s water quality in about 10 rivers that serve as water-intake points,” he said.

Subramaniam said the studies would cover the Sungai Selangor and Sungai Langat river basins to evaluate future water quality and the volume during the dry or wet season.

“Studies are an important factor as it will forecast the river’s life span and ascertain if the water quality is deteriorating due to natural causes like soil erosion,” he told reporters at the association’s building in Section U1, Glenmarie, Shah Alam.

To be monitored: A comprehensive study will be carried out in Sungai Selangor near Ijok. The Sungai Harmoni treatment plant is in the background.

Subramaniam said the studies were all the more important taking into account the turbidity of Sungai Selangor on Dec 5, that affected production at the four treatment plants.

About 60% of consumers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur depend of the four treatment plants for their supply.

The four are Sungai Selangor Phase 1, Sungai Selangor Phase 2, Sungai Selangor Phase 3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants.

On Dec 7, it was reported that the production at the four plants declined from about 2,460mil litres daily to 1,000mil after recording extraordinary turbidity of over 6,000NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units) compared with 300NTU on normal days.

Subramaniam said the studies were a proactive measure to counter water shortage in the near future, as there were 7.5 million consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

“Certain quarters would say that ‘our dams are full and there should not be a problem’ but the dams only act to regulate the river volume so that we have sufficient raw water throughout the year,” he said.

Subramaniam said the Dec 5 Sungai Selangor incident should not be forgotten as it posed a threat to cut supply to three million consumers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

“Due to the downpours, the turbidity of the river water cleared up, otherwise it would have led to a catastrophic situation in the Klang Valley,” he said.