KUALA LUMPUR: Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has expressed concern over the welfare of 600,000 residents in Kulai and Kota Tinggi following the shutting down of three water treatment plants due to pollution recently.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the ministry always views seriously the problem of pollution involving illegal factories and farms that contaminate the waterways and environment.
This comes after an illegal poultry farm has been accused of polluting Sungai Kalong by allowing ammonia from the fertiliser it was producing to seep into the river.
Wan Junaidi explained that the ministry, through the Department of Environment, had directed the farm to be relocated away from the river in July last year but the order had apparrently been ignored.
“Under the Johor state law, poultry farm operators are required to obtain a permit from the Veterinary Department. However, the owners of this farm did not bother with this requirement and now we are facing these problems,” he said.
He added that to date, there was no regulations for fertiliser farms.
“However, we understood that the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry is currently drafting laws to regulate fertiliser farms,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said the operators should be blacklisted in order to prevent them from forming other companies which would cause harm to the residents and environment.
Authorities such as Kulai Municipal Council, Kulai Land and District Office and the Veterinary Department must look into the matter seriously and bring the poultry farm operators to justice.
“A law should also be enacted which requires poultry farms and fertilisers operators to apply for permits and be subjected to a set of regulations and penalties if they failed to comply,” he said.
He also said the waste water management for poultry farms and fertiliser factory should not be located near the riverbanks to avoid pollution.
“The water treatment plant operator should be more proactive by reviewing its Standard Operating Procedure to include Guide Self-Regulation (GSR), early warning system, performance monitoring practices and formulate an SOP to resume operation expeditiously.
“The conventional water treatment plant to treat ammonia pollution should also be upgraded.” he said.
Wan Junaidi also wants the Health Ministry to review the existing raw water intake guidelines based on the capacity and capability of the treatment plant.
“There should also be an alternative to the water storage to be used as drinking water source which will act as a redundancy system namely Off-site River Storage and balancing reservoir.
“We also need to review the existing water intake based on the current needs, change of land use and future development to prevent the risk of water pollution,” he said.
On Sunday, New Straits Times reported that three water treatment plant has been forced to shut down due to the excessive amount of ammonia in Sungai Johor.