Malaysia: Four water treatment plants to resume operations after ammonia scare

The Star 5 Apr 19;

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Four water treatment plants (WTP) that were shut down after high ammonia content was detected in Sungai Johor, have resumed operations with water supply restored in stages, says the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).

The water treatment plants involved are Sungai Sayong, Semangar and Sungai Johor while the Tai Hong plant will start operation on Friday (April 5) night.

"The closure of the water treatment plants caused water supply disruption to 171,500 consumer accounts in Kota Tinggi, Kulai and Johor Baru.

“The water supply operator has also sent supply via water tankers to the affected areas including Sultanah Aminah Dialysis Hospital as well as water stations in Jalan Susur 6, Tun Razak, Bandar Seri Alam C, Taman Universiti and Taman Legenda Putra, Kulai,” said SPAN in a statement.

According to the statement, SPAN and Ranhill SAJ will continue to monitor the situation at all the plants involved and restore the supply of water to affected areas.

“SPAN will cooperate with all other enforcement agencies to carry out investigations in the ammonia pollution incident in Sungai Johor under Section 121 of the Water Services Industry Act 2006,” the statement said. -Bernama

Taps run dry in 141 locations in Johor due to ammonia pollution
mohd farhaan shah The Star 5 Apr 19;

JOHOR BARU: Three districts have been hit with water disruption due to the high-level of ammonia pollution found in Sungai Sayong.

The affected districts are Johor Baru, Kulai and parts of Kota Tinggi since Thursday (April 4).

The pollution disrupted water supply to 141 locations within the three districts.

In Kota Tinggi alone there are 45 disruptions, and among the locations are Taman Daiman Jaya, Taman Merdesa, Felda Pasak, Tai Hong, Kota Kecil, Desa Sejahtera, Kampung Kelantan, Kampung Jawa and many others.

Among the affected areas in Kulai are parts of Bandar Putra, parts of Indahpura, Bandar Kulai, Taman Impian Jaya, the whole of Jalan Saleng and many others.

It was reported that Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said that a reservoir at a bio-composite centre next to an oil palm refinery in Sedenak had burst, causing the ammonia-contaminated water to flow into Sungai Sayong, which is one of the creeks that supply raw water to Sungai Johor.

Puah, who is also Bukit Batu assemblyman, said the incident occurred at around 7am on Wednesday (April 3).

"At around 6.30pm, both the Sayong 1 and Sayong 2 water treatment plants had to be shut down as they could not process the raw water due to high levels of ammonia," he said in a statement Thursday (April 4).

He said as a result of this, at around 5.30am and 11.30am on Thursday, the Semanggar and Sungai Johor water treatment plants had to be shut down.

Puah added that the Tai Hong water treatment plant, operated by the Public Utility Board (PUB), also ceased operations.

He said authorities had taken the necessary action against the oil palm refinery by cancelling its raw water abstraction licence and serving a compound notice following the incident.

"The Johor government will not compromise over the incident, and the Johor Water Regulatory Body (Bakaj) has cancelled its water abstraction licence with immediate affect," he added.


Ammonia pollution: Water supply restored in most Kulai homes
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof and Cheryl Teh In Kulai (Johor) Straits Times 6 Apr 19;

The wedding of Mr Saiful Ihsan's sister yesterday nearly did not happen. All preparations for the happy occasion ground to a halt when the taps in Kulai ran dry at about 10am.

Mr Saiful, a 34-year-old teacher, and family members spent the next few hours looking for alternative water supplies, which they eventually found.

But it was an arduous task trying to get 1,400 litres of water to the wedding venue. Thus began another mad rush, this time to find a big enough tub, hire a lorry to transport the tub and then wait four hours for water trickling from a small pipe to fill it up.

Mr Saiful made it back only before the wedding dinner began at 7pm.

"We were desperate and needed water to wash all the dirty plates from the dinner," he said. "It was slow because there was only one pipe to fill the tub," he said.

Mr Saiful and his family were not alone in their predicament. Water supplies to Kulai and the surrounding areas of Kampung Sri Jaya, near where Mr Saiful and his family live, were cut off.

This was after high levels of ammonia were detected in Johor's Sayong River, which left about 17,000 households in Kulai without water.

The plant is now temporarily shut due to the ammonia pollution.

The high ammonia levels forced the PUB, Singapore's national water agency, to stop treatment operations at its waterworks in Kota Tinggi on Thursday.

Ammonia-contaminated water had flowed into a creek that supplies the Johor River after a reservoir at a biocomposite centre next to a palm oil refinery burst on Wednesday.

PUB had said the water supply in Singapore was not affected as it had stepped up local production at the desalination plants and waterworks to meet demand.

When The Straits Times visited the Johor River Waterworks plant yesterday afternoon, it was closed and not in operation.

Water supply was restored to about 80 per cent of households in Kulai yesterday, news reports said.

For residents like Mr Sabaran Mithy, they had had no water since Thursday night, and had to use water from their rooftop tanks.

But a 62-year-old store owner, who gave her name as Madam Kamidah, told ST that it had been a good day for business as Indonesian workers in the area had rushed to buy bottled water from her.

Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee chairman Jimmy Puah told ST he had received 31 complaints from affected residents, and clean-up operations were under way. He said only the PUB-owned sites have not resumed operations as at 3pm yesterday.


80% water supply restored in Malaysia's Kulai following ammonia pollution
Tho Xin Yi Channel NewsAsia 5 Apr 19;

JOHOR BAHRU: Eighty per cent of the water supply in Johor's Kulai district was restored by noon on Friday (Apr 5), following water cuts due to ammonia pollution in Sungai Sayong, said Bukit Batu assemblyman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse.

Mr Puah, however, told CNA that it will take more time for water to reach users in areas of higher elevation.

A reservoir at a bio-composite centre next to an oil palm refinery in Sedenak burst on Wednesday at around 7am. This caused ammonia-contaminated water to flow into Sungai Sayong, one of the creeks that supplies raw water to the Johor River.

As a result, two water treatment plants – Sayong 1 and 2 – were shut down. The incident affected water supply to about 17,000 households in Johor.

The supply of water to Singapore was also disrupted after PUB's Johor River Waterworks halted treatment operations due to the high levels of ammonia in the river.

Nonetheless, PUB said water supply in Singapore was not affected as it had stepped up production at the desalination plants and local waterworks to meet demand.

Kulai Member of Parliament Teo Nie Ching, who is also the Deputy Education Minister, told CNA that the oil palm refinery has been instructed to stop work for two weeks.

“The order was issued by the Johor Water Regulatory Body (BAKAJ) and the Department of Environment,” she said.

Mr Puah, who is also the chairman of the Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee reportedly said on Thursday that BAKAJ had cancelled the refinery’s water abstraction license with immediate effect.

He added on Friday that the refinery will also be fined for causing the pollution. “The exact amount will be determined based on the advice of the state legal adviser’s office,” Mr Puah said.

Residents noted that water supply has been gradually restored.

Kulai resident Kathleen Ann Kili, 28, said water supply to her neighbourhood resumed on Friday morning, although water pressure was lower than usual.

“There was no water supply since Thursday afternoon at about 3pm. By the time I woke up today (Friday) at 7am, water is flowing from the taps again,” she said.

Source: CNA/tx(aw)