KLANG: The release of effluents into water sources is the bane of highly industrialised states such as Selangor.Experts say there is a need for strict and all-encompassing legislation to protect watersheds and water catchments of critical rivers to prevent this contamination from recurring time and again.
Water quality specialist Dr Zaki Zainudin said there aren’t any direct environmental legislation in Malaysia currently that fully covers pollution load control.
“In fact, even the Environmental Quality Act 1974 does not specifically control pollution load.
“The Act instead limits pollutant concentration, meaning that it does not holistically address total quantity or load of pollutants into rivers and water courses.
“Current laws only cover one half of the story since load consists of not only concentration but also effluent flow rate,’’ he explained.
Zaki said there are many other strategies – such as catchment protection, in addition to pollution load control – that can be implemented to prevent contamination of water catchment areas.
“Catchment protection entails gazetting such areas as protected, which means development is limited or not allowed at all.
“This ensures pollution is kept to a minimum as development usually also brings pollution,’’ he said, adding that for a start this could be carried out at selected critical water catchment areas and river systems in the country.
Zaki noted that other strategies include polluters-pay-principle (PPP), under which premises that have discharged waste into water courses are made to pay according to the amount of discharge found.
He added that in June, the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) had made changes to its enactment on effluent discharges.
“In an effort to deter discharge of effluents into rivers, LUAS will start charging according to the pollution load released. This is in tandem with the PPP approach.”
Zaki’s comments came following the recent case where residents in several areas in Selangor had to endure an unscheduled water disruption after the Rantau Panjang and Sungai Selangor phases 1, 2 and 3 (SSP1, SSP2 and SSP3) water treatment plants were shut down.
The abrupt halt came about after a type of scheduled substance, poly methacrylic acid, leaked out from a storage tank of a factory processing acrylic material for recycling.
“My suggestion will be to come up with a list or schedule of potentially high-risk industries which should not be allowed to operate upstream of water intake points, particularly the critical intakes,’’ said Zaki.
River reserves and buffer zones, he added, have to also be protected with no development allowed in these areas.
Zaki said state governments have a vital role to play when it comes to protecting their river basins because under the Federal Constitution, water resources fall under the purview of the states.
“Selangor, in my view, is ahead of other states, being the first to establish its own water authority LUAS,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Prof Dr Rasyikah Md Khalid of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s law faculty explained that laws to control water pollution can be categorised into point source and non-point source pollution.
The Environment Department regulates the point sources of pollution, which cover effluents from industries as well as oil palm and rubber plantations, she said.
“The local government will regulate non-point sources such as pollution from activities that they have licensed to operate.
“However, these are sometimes not properly monitored and action is only taken upon complaints,” she added.
Prof Rasyikah noted that state water resource authorities such as LUAS also have powers to deter water pollution.
