Selangor tap water management company, Air Selangor should come out clean on the water situation in the affected areas where supply has yet to resume after 10 days of being interrupted.
Since the odour contamination was detected on Christmas eve, Air Selangor said the matter will be resolved by 27 December and the two treatment plants will pump fresh water to all the taps following the clean-up. But till today there is no solution in sight with the state-owned company saying the plants have been shut down again, not only that there is another pipe burst situation for Gombak and KL residents as well.
The pipe repair work at Bukit Indah Industrial Park has just reached 59 percent for the Gombak district while for Kuala Lumpur it is still affected.A burst pipe repair work at Bukit Indah Industrial Park caused unscheduled water disruptions in 83 areas around Gombak and Kuala Lumpur regions. Air Selangor said the water supply is expected to be fully restored by 9 pm today.
As for the Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi water treatment plants which are shut again, Air Selangor said it discovered an odour flow originating from the location where a perfume oil spill had occurred due to an accident on December 24, 2022. Selangor Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Orang Asli Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the two WTPs which were temporarily shut down for about four to six hours was a preventive measure following the odour pollution in the Semenyih River. “The odour from the six tonnes of perfume oil at the location was detected after heavy rain yesterday afternoon. It flowed from the waste that was trapped and absorbed around the spilt area during the day as well as in the river outside the Selangor area. “Based on studies by the Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (Luas), it was found that the effect of the perfume oil spill incident was likely to have seeped into the environment of the location and will be re-dissolved with the flow of water, especially when it rains.
The question then lies in why the authorities took so long to analyse the area and come to a proper and thorough cleanup before allowing the plants to resume. Its water all elements of danger must be resolved before allowing residents to consume it!
Shouldn’t they have gotten to the source of the spill, and inspected the whole area with all the relevant bodies including the Department of Environment, Chemistry, River and Water, and soil specialist before taking any appropriate action?
