SINCE the dawn of human civilisation, sewage has always been discharged to the nearest waterways and channelled back to water bodies – letting nature do its job treating wastewater by breaking down materials, decomposition and through natural oxidation.
The concept of "natural treatment" is not “wrong” because many pollutants can be removed through this process. However, the rate of our population growth and the increase in pollution via volumes of untreated wastewater makes this approach unsuitable for modern life.
In fact, untreated wastewater can be dangerous to humans, causing pollution and widespread water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and Hepatitis A.
Thus, the rapid development of the national sewerage system was vital for Malaysians. It addressed the need to separate sewage from drinking water sources to protect public health and preserve the environment.
Historically, Malaysia developed its sewerage system through several phases. As early as the 1800s, the Municipal Corporation Act 1835 was developed under the Sanitation Council which served to control construction, repair, cleaning, drainage, irrigation among other areas. Several enactments were also introduced after the establishment of the Town Planning Department around 1921, which was later changed to the Town Council in 1946.
Following the independence and formation of Malaysia in 1963, sewerage systems such as individual septic tanks, communal septic tanks, Imhoff tanks, oxidation ponds and connected sewerage systems were introduced by the Malaysian government.
The systems were expected to achieve the goal of improving the health of the community at that time. However, the local authority management at the time was not comprehensive, and factoring in the increase in population, the systems contributed to the pollution of our rivers and drainage system. Consequently, it left a negative impact on the environment.
The government then enacted a special law called the Sewerage Services Act 1993 (Act 508), which was passed by Parliament in June 1993. The Act mandated the federal government to take full responsibility and control over the development, management and regulation of sewage management throughout the country.
To strengthen that national sewerage system, Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd was established in 1994. The company would provide sewerage services to 86 local authority (PBT) areas except Kelantan, Johor Baru, Pasir Gudang, Sabah and Sarawak.
In line with Malaysia’s socio-economic development, modern sewage treatment plants have also been developed alongside to treat sewage more efficiently and to accommodate the increase in population, which increases yearly.
One of the most modern plants operated by IWK is the Pantai 2 Regional Sewage Treatment Plant (RSTP) which was developed on a 7ha-site. Previously, the plant used to house an open oxidation pond system that could only accommodate 877,000 population equivalent (PE).
Oxidation ponds at Pantai 2 RSTP around the year 1984.
Today, the Pantai 2 RSTP has been upgraded and stands as the largest plant in the Asia Pacific region. It is also the first underground sewage treatment plant in Malaysia, capable of treating sewage for 1.423mil population equivalent (PE).
Built at a cost of RM983mil fully funded by the government, this plant adopts several green technology initiatives to help reduce its carbon footprint and create a sustainable future for all. This plant uses biogas and solar panels to produce electricity, the bio effluent (treated wastewater) produced by the plant will be recycled and reused, and it’s furnished with energy saving equipment.
Right above the underground plant, a recreation park was developed called IWK Eco Park @ Pantai Dalam, which spans an area of 12 hectares. The park is home to all sorts of facilities and splashes of lush greeneries, such as a jogging track, community halls for all kinds of celebrations, ceremonies or corporate events, and sports courts for badminton and futsal.
The modern Pantai 2 RSTP that was upgraded in line with the development of the country.
IWK Eco Park @ Pantai Dalam, a recreation park located above Pantai 2 RSTP.
After operating for more than 28 years, IWK expanded its operations to the entire Peninsular Malaysia, including the Federal Territory of Labuan, providing services to more than 29mil population equivalent (PE).
The company is also responsible in ensuring 7,347 sewage treatment plants, 1,398 sewage pumping stations and 22,820 km of sewer lines work well for the benefit of environmental sustainability and public health.
IWK has also looked into other “waste-to-wealth” initiatives as part of its efforts to venture beyond its core business of managing and maintaining the sewerage system. This initiative is a holistic practice of turning IWK’s bioproducts, produced from the sewage treatment process, into a new source of wealth. This is aligned with the principles of the circular economic approach and these include the reuse of IWK’s bio effluent, bio solids and bio gas; some of these initiatives are already well underway.
“The concession agreement that was approved in 2021 covers the additional provision of allowing IWK to undertake non-tariff business activities which are categorised as non-core business streams,” said IWK chief executive officer Narendran Maniam in IWK’s Sustainability Report 2021.
“This would include initiatives such as producing non-potable reclaimed water from treated effluent, monetising the sewerage reserved land with telco towers and billboards, exploring usage of biosolids such as the use of fertilisers for non-food crops and providing international management and technical services,” he said.
