LETTERS: The importance of water to the sustainable livelihood of the community is evident. We abstract raw water from a river and treat it at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to become potable water which is then distributed for domestic, agricultural and industrial use. After it is transformed into wastewater, it is discharged into the river as effluent after treatment in a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).
The cycle continues with the abstraction of water into the WTP. As the majority of the WTPs are located at the downstream of a river, the water used as raw water is essentially the diluted discharge from an STP located upstream.
Zooming into this micro-scale of the urban water cycle, the influence of public citizens is crucial in establishing sustainable water use. Way of life is the key here. How we can use potable water sustainably? Malaysians have been reported as one of the highest users of treated water, using up to 230l/cap.day, compared with our Asean neighbours who use an average 150l/cap.day.
Our daily activities of bathing, cooking, laundry and cleaning consume water directly. However, our water usage does not stop here. Our lifestyle significantly contributes to the water footprint, that is how much water is embedded in the products and goods we buy.
For example, 1kg of rice uses 2,500l of water while a T-shirt and a pair of jeans together use a whopping 10,000l of water. Malaysians' water footprint is reported to be at 2344m3/cap. a year, almost double that of the estimated global water footprint at 1240m3/cap a year. The high value of water footprint indicates a lavish lifestyle, both in terms of direct water consumption and consumerism.
Our domestic wastewater is mostly centralised, being conveyed from home to the STP through kilometres of sewage network pipes. The STPs are properly designed to remove organic and ammonia-based contaminants, where the effluent meets the stringent guidelines.
However, improper discharge of other contaminants such as industrial solvents and debris into the sewage network compromises the efficiency of STPs. Sungai Semenyih's pollution due to the illegal scheduled waste discharge into the sewage manholes sparked controversy as the Semenyih WTP located downstream then needed to be shut down.
Appointed contractors should be more responsible. Taking the easy road by disposing them into the "unseen" sewage manholes is more tempting to save cost. Banking on our easy access to the Internet, public citizens can play an active role by immediately reporting any suspicious activity to the authorities.
Being a tropical country with an annual rainfall of 2500mm, giving a high surface runoff, Malaysia has multiple networks of rivers. Unfortunately, rivers in Malaysia, particularly the ones running through the cities, are heavily polluted, mostly visible with rubbish.
A scene of plastic bottles, boba cups and food containers is common for our river's landscape (except for the inaccessible upstream rivers). An estimated 2,200 tonnes of rubbish are dumped into Malaysian waterways every month.
Despite numerous awareness campaigns and the knowledge that our treated water comes from the rivers, an easy way out of dumping straight into the rivers has become a habitual form of waste management.
Not limiting the issue solely to the rivers, we need to refrain ourselves from throwing rubbish from our cars, out of the kitchen window or while walking at the pasar malam as these will go into the drains and eventually flow into the rivers. The mentality of treating our land as a dumping ground needs to be changed.
Let us start by practising the simplest activity of keeping our waste properly managed within our homes. Separating the waste into two baskets of wet (kitchen) and dry (others) is the first step that can be adopted.
WAN HANNA MELINI WAN MOHTAR
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, UKM
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times