Water supply disruption: Reward for information on illegal dumping culprits

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): A reward awaits anyone who could provide relevant information on the illegal dumping of pollutants in the rivers, said Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Commenting on the latest illegal dumping incident which led to an unscheduled water cut today in the Klang Valley, Tuan Ibrahim said: “We are not able to control all industrial plants and places, so we encourage the public to help,” reported the Malay Mail today.

“We will act decisively against those who pollute our water resources with the law and authority of the Ministry,” he said, urging members of the public to come forward and provide information on the incident. 

He stressed such reports would allow authorities to act quickly, vowing there would be no compromise for the culprits.

In its investigation, the ministry found that the latest pollution of the Sungai Selangor was caused by intentional dumping some time after midnight today.

“Maybe during those times when people were not working, these irresponsible parties took the opportunity [to pollute the river],’’ Tuan Ibrahim was reported saying during a press conference in Astro Awani today. 

He said “the pollution reached a threshold odour number (TON) of three at one point, but has since declined to one”. The TON indicates how many dilutions it takes to produce odour-free drinking water.

“We hope it will end soon,” the minister said.

The contamination detected in the Sungai Selangor river at 2am today had forced a stop-work order on Phase 1, 2, 3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants. This has led Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) to announce an unscheduled water cut, leaving millions in the Klang Valley without water supply again, the second such incident in a mere span of two months.

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