Friday November 6, 2009
Sri Johor lake no longer scenic
By LIM CHIA YING
Photos courtesy of K.M.LEONG and LIM CHIA YING
MANY residents of Villa Laman Tasik townhouses in Bandar Sri Permaisuri, Bandar Tun Razak, are unhappy and frustrated over having to put up with the condition of the Sri Johor lake behind their homes.
Their main grievance is the smell that wafts into their houses after a downpour and the sight of plastic bags and rubbish floating on the surface.
Resident Lim Lye Hock said the garbage would then settle on the sides of the lake, creating a mess and emitting an unbearable stench.
Unhappy lot: A group of residents gathering at the lake to voice out their complaints. “The rubbish and slug will normally be there until the next downpour, when it would be washed away or sink,” said Lim as he showed StarMetro the lake’s condition during a recent visit together with a group residents and also Bandar Tun Razak MP Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s special assistant Chin Chee Kong.
“Sometimes carcasses like chicken would be washed up here,” said Lim.
He is questioning the design of the lake which he claims did not take into consideration rubbish management ranging from the filter to the water inlet and outlet.
“We wonder if the filtering system is built according to specifications or is working as intended and if the inlet and outlet are being maintained accordingly.”
Resident Y.S.Lee said although they had seen workers collecting rubbish in the area, this was however carried out at a slow pace and not consistent.
In the past: A photograph taken when the pond was clean and residents conducted activities there “It seems that there is no proper scheduled maintenance of the lake. Also, only a certain section is cleaned regularly while the other areas are ignored,” said Lee.
Resident Lau Yin Ling said when there was a breeze, the smell would be overpowering.
“Rubbish at some stretches have also not been collected since a few months ago, especially the stretch behind our homes.
“It is as if they are just waiting for the next downpour to wash the lot away,” said Lau.
Sorry sight: A pile of rubbish deposited at one corner of the lake. Resident Omar Khalid noted that the sides of the lake were too shallow making it difficult for the contractors to collect the rubbish stuck there.
Resident K.M.Leong said the lake used to be a beautiful natural lake where people would even jet-ski.
“This is a thing of the past and residents rarely even jog here.”
The residents want regular cleaning of rubbish carried out at the source, namely at Sg Kerayong that channels water into the lake and also daily inspection of the lake.
When contacted, the Federal Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) director Hashim Osman said contractors had been appointed to maintain the Sri Johor lake and this included grass-cutting and rubbish collection two times a month.
“However, as it is raining daily now and it is quite difficult to complete clearing the rubbish within a short time. There is simply too much rubbish,” said Hashim.
He said they were installing a rubbish trap called logboom at Sg Kerayong and also at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) drain which is the water outlet.
“The construction of this logboom will be completed by the end of the month and will reduce the amount of rubbish being channelled into the lake and subsequently, reduce the stench,” he said.
He said the lake was made to function as a flood mitigation pond and one of the components under JPS’s flood projects in Kuala Lumpur.
Cause of stench: Rubbish floating on the side of the lake. It was then handed over to the Federal department for maintenance.
The entire project (including diversion) cost over RM90mil, while Sg Kerayong is also under his department’s maintenance.
At the water inlet area near Sg Kerayong, where the Sri Johor flats are, a horizontal vertical trap is seen but Hashim said this was designed for low water flow only.
“When the water level is high, the floating rubbish will flow over, which is why the construction of the logboom is under way now,” said Hashim.
He said his department personnel would monitor the contractors more closely and also appealed to the public not to dump rubbish into Sg Kerayong as this would in turn affect many other people.
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