RAWANG: Traders have been forced to close most restaurants and eateries around Kundang here due to water supply disruptions caused by river pollution.
Muhammad Firdaus Ramli, 39, a seafood restaurant owner, said since he has been in business over the past year, this is the eighth time water has been cut due to river pollution.
"Sometimes we receive a notice, and sometimes we don't, so we have to close the restaurant until the pollution treatment work is completed.
"I have to pay a neighbour to get water supply from his house to use for cooking," he said when met by reporters today.
He said he has also incurred additional expenses from having to buy containers for storing water.
"I need more than 20 litres of water a day because the restaurant is open from morning until night. Even after getting water from my neighbour, I sometimes get water from the surau," he said, now forced to close his restaurant for two days starting Monday.
Azizul Arshad Adam Malik, 26, who runs a nasi kandar stall, said that whenever there are water cuts, he would start losing customers and would have to relocate to some place farther away.
"When faced with water supply disruptions, we use plastic spoons and forks. It's not that we don't want to wash the utensils, but we can't because there is no water.
"It's quite a loss for us because customers are uncomfortable using plastic spoons and forks as they break easily. If there is a water supply disruption, a notice should be issued so that we can take time off or store more water," he said.
It was previously reported that the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) has opened an investigation into the odour pollution incident in Sungai Kundang and Sungai Sembah here, following a leak at a plastic factory tank in Kuang, which caused four Water Treatment Plants (WTP) to be shut down.
The agency said that the investigation is being conducted under Section 79(1) of the Luas 1999 Enactment for further enforcement action against the premises involved in the incident.
It added that the Department of Environment (DOE) and the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) would also take relevant action under their respective jurisdictions against the premises.
Yesterday, the Selangor Infrastructure Committee chairman, Izham Hashim, was reported saying that water supply disruptions in seven regions in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are expected to be fully restored by Friday.
He said that the Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plant and the Sungai Selangor Phases 1, 2, and 3 (SSP1, SSP2, and SSP3) are operating after a reading of 0 ton, or threshold odour number, was recorded three times in a row.
Threshold odour numbers are whole numbers that indicate how many dilutions it takes to produce odour-free water.