AS MUCH as 516 million litres of raw water from the off river storage facility at Sungai Selangor and the KL Larut retention pond was needed to curb ammonia pollution at the main water intake of Phase 1, 2 and 3 of the Sungai Selangor water treatment plants, said Selangor Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Izham Hashim.
In a statement, Izham said the decision to release the raw water was made after Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) detected a spike in ammonia readings on Feb 2.
Water quality readings are now showing that ammonia parameters have returned to normal at below 1mg/l. The permissible level, as recommended by the Health Department, does not exceed 1.5mg/l.
Izham said this dilution mechanism as well as 24-hour monitoring by LUAS Squad Pantas had been instrumental in ensuring the continued operations of the water treatment plants which was vital in ensuring water supply.
The source of the ammonia pollutant could not be determined. According to Luas, the spike in readings had likely come from a combination of economic and urbanisation activities around the Sungai Selangor basin.
