Today Online 17 Jul 16;
SINGAPORE — Singapore is providing Johor with an additional six million gallons of treated water per day after Johor’s water regulatory body made an urgent request.
This additional supply started on Sunday (July 17) and will continue for three days, Singapore’s PUB said in a statement. Currently, the Republic already provides 15 to 16 million gallons of treated water per day regularly for Johor.
According to the PUB, Johor requires the additional six million gallons of water per day to stabilise its supply system in Johor Baru, which has been affected by pollution in the Johor River.
“Service to PUB’s customers in Singapore will not be affected in any way as we are able to increase local production at short notice,” said the national water agency.
Last month, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said Singapore’s water supply was adequate even though it started supplying more potable water to Johor at the request of the Malaysian state’s water regulatory body.
He also said the Government had asked the Malaysian authorities to look at other ways to top up Linggiu Reservoir, which PUB operates and from which both Singapore and Johor draw water.
Under the 1962 Water Agreement with Malaysia, the PUB is entitled to draw 250 million gallons of raw water per day from the Johor River. In turn, PUB is obliged to sell 5 million gallons of treated water per day to Johor.
In practice, however, the PUB has been regularly providing Johor with three times this, up to 16 million gallons on a daily basis, said the water agency. The terms of the Water Agreement end in 2061.
Singapore supplies additional potable water to Johor on urgent request: PUB
Channel NewsAsia 17 Jul 16;
SINGAPORE: Singapore has begun supplying Johor additional potable water following an urgent request by Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (BAKAJ), said PUB in a media statement released on Sunday (Jul 17).
PUB said Johor BAKAJ requested for an additional supply of 6 million gallons of treated water per day for the next three days. The statement added that the water is needed to stabilise its own supply system in Johor Bahru after the shutdown on Wednesday due to pollution in the Johor River.
"PUB has readily acceded to this urgent request and commenced additional supply of treated water to Johor since 17 July 12am. This additional supply will continue for the next three days."
PUB added that customers in Singapore will not be affected in any way as it is able to increase local production at short notice.
The statement added: "PUB Singapore is entitled to draw 250mgd of raw water from the Johor River under the 1962 Water Agreement with Malaysia. This right is guaranteed by the 1965 Separation Agreement and expires in 2061. The 1962 Water Agreement also obliges PUB to sell 5mgd of treated water to Johor. In practice though, PUB has been regularly providing Johor with three times this, up to 16mgd on a daily basis."
This latest request for 6mgd is on top of the regular 15-16mgd we provide Johor every day, said PUB.
- CNA/mn
Johor makes 'urgent request' for additional treated water from Singapore
CAROLYN KHEW The Star 18 Jul 16;
SINGAPORE: Malaysia has started receiving an additional six million gallons of treated water per day from Singapore.
This comes after Johor's water regulatory body Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (Bakaj) made an "urgent request" on Saturday to national water agency PUB, asking for an additional supply of treated water.
"Bakaj requires this water to stabilise its own supply system in Johor Baru after a shutdown on Wednesday due to pollution in the Johor River," said PUB in a statement Sunday.
The agency added that it started supplying the additional amount of water yesterday and the arrangement will carry on until Tuesday.
The extra amount of treated water is being supplied by the PUB-operated Johor River Waterworks.
The latest arrangement, however, will not affect Singapore's own water supply as the agency is able to increase its own local production at short notice, said PUB.
This means getting more water from desalination plants here, as well as reservoirs, to ensure that Singapore's water needs are met.
Last week, The Star reported that effluents discharged from a palm oil mill have been identified as the main source of high ammonia content in the Johor River.
The pollution caused operations of three water treatment plants in Johor to stop, affecting some 600,000 users in the southern parts of Johor.
PUB is entitled to draw 250 million gallons of raw water daily from the Johor River under the 1962 Water Agreement with Malaysia, which expires in 2061.
In exchange, Singapore is obliged to sell five million gallons of treated water to Johor each day.
However, PUB has been regularly providing Johor with up to 16 million gallons of water on a daily basis. The new addition of six million gallons of water daily comes on top of this.
This is not the first time that Johor has asked Singapore to supply more water. There have been previous instances where Singapore had to supply additional water to Johor due to "urgent operational needs", said PUB.
Last month, Bakaj also requested that PUB provide an additional six million gallons of water per day for a month, following dry weather that severely affected water levels in Johor's Sungai Layang dam. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
MB: No need to publicly argue with GLC over pollution of Sungai Johor
ZAZALI MUSA The Star 20 Jul 16;
KOTA TINGGI: The state government will not publicly spar with a government-linked company over the recent detection of high ammonia content in Sungai Johor while awaiting further test results.
Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said there was no need to argue publicly with the GLC-owned palm oil mill in Ulu Remis near Kluang which had been identified as having caused the pollution in Sungai Johor earlier this month.
“A closure notice has already been issued to the palm oil mill and we are awaiting the test results from the Department of Environment (DOE),” Mohamed Khaled said when asked to comment on the statement by the company that its in-house laboratory tests did not find any trace of effluents from the palm oil mill.
Mohamed Khaled spoke to reporters at a ceremony to mark the completion of the Seluyut Dam project near here which cost more than RM1bil.
The project supplies raw water to the multi-billion ringgit Petronas Pengerang Integrated Complex located about 90km from the dam area.
Mohamed Khaled said the palm oil mill had been given a stop-work order for 60 days from July 14 by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
The notice was served after DOE found that effluents from the mill were the main cause of high ammonia content in Sungai Johor.
The pollution was detected in the river on July 12, causing a major water disruption in three southern districts for three days until July 14.
It forced the shutdown of three water treatment plants, namely Semangar, Sungai Johor and Tai Hong, which affected some 600,000 users.
The water treatment plants serve domestic, commercial and industrial users in Skudai, Kulai, Bukit Batu, Iskandar Puteri, Tanjung Bin power station and Port of Tanjung Pelepas.
On Singapore having supplied treated water to Johor during the three-day disruption, Mohamed Khaled said it was a normal procedure as agreed between the two sides.
“The same thing happened during the recent drought where we received treated water from the republic. It reflects the good bilateral relationship between Johor and Singapore.”
