The Star spoke to Dr Zaki Zainudin, a water quality and modelling specialist, who said the problem should be taken seriously as it also affected Putrajaya – the nation’s administrative capital.
Commenting on the recurring pollution issue at the Sungai Semenyih dam, he said the dam’s location of about 50km away from the treatment plant and the river, was bound to make it prone to contamination from various sources along the way.
Zaki’s three options to address the situation include building protective canals or pipes to channel water from the dam to the treatment plant; building a treatment plant nearer to the dam; or, upgrading the existing treatment plant with advance water treatment technology.
According to Zaki, cost could be a factor in the first option, while the third option would allow culprits to continue polluting the country’s rivers.
“The authorities have to weigh the pros and cons of all the options.”
Zaki also urged relevant parties at the Sungai Semenyih treatment plant to assess its own treatment system and processes, to ensure it was not compounding the existing problem in any way.
More than a million people in the districts of Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Petaling and Sepang have been facing water supply disruptions since last week, following odour pollution which saw the closure of the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant.
An illegal factory operating near the Semenyih Hi-Tech Industrial Park, which has been identified as the source of the pollution, has since been shut down.