Articles / Newsletter

Tough time dealing with river polluters
Date 10-Nov-2016 | Category | Author Elan Perumal & Priya Menon
http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2016/11/10/tough-time-dealing-with-river-polluters-taking-action-against-errant-factory-operators-requires-coll/

ALMOST all the factories operating along the riverbanks of Sungai Semenyih are causing pollution, State Environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong.

A total of 87 compound notices were issued to factory operators flouting the Department of Environment’s (DOE) regulations around Sungai Semenyih, she added.

“We are facing a challenging task dealing with the polluters.

“Furthermore, the area around Sungai Semenyih is as big as Singapore,” she said, adding that the total area was more than 600sq km.

Wong said it required close collaboration of various parties including DOE, Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) and state water agencies to take action against the polluters.

“The public have an important role to play by providing information on river pollution to the authorities.

“They should quickly report pollution incidents as the authorities are well equipped to take action against the culprits,” she said in reply to a question by Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz (BN-Semenyih).

Johan told the state assembly that he received information from the public that the water leading to Sungai Semenyih from Bangi was black in colour.

Wong praised Johan for checking pollution along the river.

“I really appreciate your involvement with NGOs in monitoring the condition of the river,” she said.

Earlier, Johan had asked how much the state government had to pay to clean the Semenyih water treatment plant.

State infrastructure committee chairman Zaidy Talib said the state spent RM1.3mil during the last few incidents of Sungai Semenyih’s contamination.

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