LETTERS: The Global Environment Centre in 2023 revealed that only 53 per cent of rivers are classified as clean due to the increased discharge of effluents, whether treated within the limits set by the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009 under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 or untreated waste discharged by irresponsible factories.
Polluted river water inevitably ends up in the oceans, the largest protein source in the world to over three billion people. More alarmingly, industrial effluent discharged by factories also contains toxic hazardous chemicals that seep into groundwater, contaminating drinking water sources and ultimately affecting public health.
In 2019, the country was shocked by a chemical pollution incident in Sungai Kim Kim, Johor, which affected the health and well-being of over 2,000 people.
As of now, 25 rivers monitored by the Department of Environment (DOE) in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, and Sarawak, have been categorised as polluted.
Naturally, pollutants that flow into rivers undergo dilution and dispersion processes. This natural process reduces the negative impact on the environment as long as the pollutants released are within the concentration limits that the river can support.
However, a recent study by the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), a maritime policy research institution under the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, indicates that the effluent concentration limits established by the 2009 regulations are outdated and therefore require reassessment.
Considering that rivers have been receiving effluent pollutant loads for centuries, these rivers may have reached maximum saturation levels.
Consequently, the capacity of these rivers to perform their natural dilution and dispersion processes, which help to reduce the impact of these waste pollutants, is severely limited.
If this situation persists, rivers may turn into factory drains, losing their function as aquatic ecosystems and becoming unusable for human purposes.
Furthermore, MIMA's study findings indicate that the Industrial Effluent Discharge parameters in the Fifth Schedule of the Environmental Quality Regulations (Industrial Effluent) 2009 do not include emerging pollutants and other hazardous chemicals currently found in effluents from modern factories, which is concerning because many of them have been linked to cancer and other chronic diseases.
Therefore, MIMA's study recommends that the concentration limits and parameters in the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009 should be reviewed and reduced according to current situation and the river's carrying capacity.
Additionally, the National Water Quality Standards should also be reviewed, particularly in terms of concentration limits and parameters for water classification and its uses.
Drastic measures must be taken to address river pollution as the effects of climate change around the world lead to a decrease in the volume of water in major rivers.
This situation is further exacerbated by reduced rainfall, resulting in water scarcity. If not addressed promptly, the country may face the prospect of drinking treated sewage water due to the lack or absence of clean water sources.
A more prudent approach is to ensure that effluent discharges from factories are no longer channeled into rivers or drains that flow into rivers and then into the sea.
Instead, they should be directed into sewage tanks, as practised in Singapore, or collected in a special tank for treatment.
Factory waste should be managed centrally and not mixed with clean water sources like rivers.
DR SYUHAIDA ISMAIL
Director of Research
Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA)
DR NUR ZULAIKHA YUSOF
Senior Researcher, MIMA