Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:16 am Post subject: Sungai Juru Tops Malaysia's Most Polluted Rivers
April 15, 2006 09:58 AM
Sungai Juru Tops Malaysia's Most Polluted Rivers
By Azeman Arrifin
PENANG, April 15 (Bernama) -- Efforts by the government to improve river cleanliness through the "Love Our Rivers" campaign, launched some 13 years ago, seems like pouring salt into the sea, especially when water quality in Sungai Juru here is concerned.
Undoubtedly without any guilty conscience, some people have no heed for the campaign and continue to regard rivers as their garbage bins by dumping all sorts of waste, including factory waste containing toxic, into them.
As a result, the 7.95 kilometre Sungai Juru continue to top the list of the most polluted rivers in the country and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the dirtiest in South East Asia.
According to WHO, water in the river can kill not only whatever living things in it, but also human beings because of its high toxic content even after boiling it.
It is so much different from 20 years ago when the river was known for projects like fish and cockle rearing in cages and also a landing place for fishermen.
The serious contamination of the river water not only affects income of fishermen in the area, but also deprives Penang of a water source which include for irrigation purpose.
The Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), has on numerous occasions issued statements on pollution at Sungai Juru and conducts research to determine the source for the contamination in the river.
A fisherman, Ahmad Din, 50, said he could depend on the river to earn a living by getting about RM50 a day catching prawns in the river some 20 years ago.
"Now, not only there is no fish, even the grass cannot grow along the river," he added.
Ahmad said the villagers had lodged complaints to various quarters but no action had been taken.
The Penang state government, however, denied that it had not taken any action to address the problem but said it was hampered because the villagers did not want to cooperate in the river campaign.
State Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Committee Chairman Datuk Azhar Ibrahim said Sungai Juru was full of garbage despite work being carried out everyday to clean the river.
He blamed it on the attitude of the villagers for dumping their domestic waste into the river.
The state government, he said, had taken proactive measures, including the possibility of relocating the riverine residents and also to monitor development in the area.
He said a survey was being carried out by a special committee to determine the number of squatter houses and illegal factories along the river.
He said any industrial premises found to have contributed to contamination of the river water would be asked to move to other places.
Azhar said the state government had also requested a special allocation under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for long term development programmes to rehabilitate water in the river.
He added plans were also made to deepen the river to ensure swift flow of the water to the sea.
Water Pollution - Of all natural resources, water is the most severely threatened by pollution. The DOE reports the most serious water polluting industry in terms of the number of point sources. In this context, food processing is the most polluting industry for water. The deterioration of water quality follows a five-year trend (1986-1991). The trend indicates that the number of rivers in the slightly polluted and very polluted categories is tending to increase while the number of rivers in the clean category is tending to decrease. Water pollution in Malaysia is measured in terms of BOD caused by organic pollution, ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) emitted in the form of sewage and animal waste or fecal coliforms), suspended solids for soil erosion and sedimentation. Heavy metals and nutrients are also measured. The DOE no longer gives information on the most important polluters of water by pollution load. Instead, information is presented according to the number of polluters. Malaysian rivers are heavily polluted with mean BOD levels nearly six times the international standard. Residential sewage accounts for nearly 80 percent of BOD-related water pollution, followed by agriculture and industry. Inadequate sewerage system is the main cause of water pollution.
The principal source of fecal coliforms is human waste, while concentrated industrial wastewater and agricultural run-off of fertilizer and chemicals into surface water affect levels of dissolved oxygen in water. The reduction of dissolved oxygen effects mainly plant life and fish resulting in destruction of aquatic life and the natural ecology of the rivers. Forest harvesting and agricultural and urban development have resulted in the pollution of most river systems, affected ecological dynamics and disrupted natural food chains. In 1991, 40.5 percent of the 2,292 industries in Malaysia, identified as major sources of water pollutants, were food and beverage industries. 14.1 percent were rubber producing and 11.8 percent were chemical producing industries. In terms of organic water pollution, human and animal wastes largely from piggeries and agro-based industries are the primary sources. The heavily industrialized Peninsular states that are most affected by these pollution sources are Selangor, Johor, Penang and Perak. Although the supply of clean water is high, inadequate sewerage and drainage systems now threaten water quality.
Further clearing of forested land, tin mining and effluent discharges from industries, tin mining, logging, use of weedicides, insecticides, latex processing plants and manufacturing industries are polluting surface water sources. Treatment of raw water from surface water sources for human consumption and for industrial use has become more complex because of water pollution.
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Water Resources Legislation - The most important legislation in Malaysia governing water quality management is the Environmental Quality Act 1974. The purpose of EQA is twofold: pollution prevention, abatement and control as well as environment enhancement. Water pollution control strategy adopted by Department of Environment encompasses both statutory control and non-statutory approaches. To date, there are six sets of Regulations under EQA 1974 for statutory control of water pollution as follows:
Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations, 1977
Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Raw Natural Rubber) Regulations, 1978
Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations, 1979
Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Scheduled Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities) Regulations, 1989
Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations, 1989
Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order, 1987
Under these Regulations, standards and procedures for handling the various types of wastewater and other type of industrial wastes have been set. EQA 1974 and the Regulations made thereunder are designed towards the control of industrial pollution and domestic sewage discharges that affect the quality of land, air and water. In areas where legal control cannot be carried out, guidelines are provided to assist the relevant sectors.
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Water Quality Index - Water quality is assessed for its physical, chemical and biological characteristics, and is measured for turbidity, salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and electrical conductivity. Laboratory analysis covers 30 other chemical and biological parameters including bacteriological indicators, pesticides and detergents. The appraisal of water quality using DOE's Water Quality Index measures six of water quality parameters, i.e. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3N), Suspended Solid (SS), pH and dissolved oxygen. BOD measures material or organisms in water that reduce dissolved oxygen as they decay or degraded. COD is the amount of oxygen required for the chemical oxidation of organic material in a liquid. Raw or untreated sewage and animal waste or fecal coliforms are the cause for ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N content in water), suspended solids for soil erosion and sedimentation. Heavy metals and nutrients are also measured. Levels of suspended and dissolved solids indicate the amount of particulate material and industrial matter present in the water. In normal or natural waters, amounts of dissolved solids are in the region of 60-77 ppm and usually below 200 ppm. The pH level is the measure of concentration of hydrogen ion in water showing the extent of acidity or alkalinity. Its scale runs from 0 to 14; 0 is strongly acidic, 14 strongly alkaline, and 7 neutral. If water it too acidic or too alkaline, organisms such as fish cannot survive.
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Sungai Juru Tops Malaysia's Most Polluted Rivers
