By Alang Bendahara
KLANG, April 4 — Satisfied with the progress of the Sungai Klang rejuvenation projects, the state government has announced several new initiatives to further improve the Water Quality Index (WQI) for one of Selangor’s three main rivers.
State executive councillor for infrastructure and public amenities Izham Hashim said the move was to ensure the river’s WQI can complement the upcoming Sungai Rasau Water Treatment Plant’s (WTP) operation.
“The Sungai Rasau WTP will use water from Sungai Klang. Previously the river’s WQI was Class Five, which is toxic. But now for 48 per cent of the year it is Class III and above, which is very good. We want to increase it to 70 per cent within the next two years or 90 per cent within the next five.
“The first phase of the WTP construction is ongoing and we hope to complete it by 2025. Before that we need to ensure the river’s quality improves to reduce the amount of treatment required and the associated costs,” he said during a visit to The Ocean Cleanup’s Interceptor 005 at Sungai Klang today.
Izham said each phase of the Sungai Rasau WTP would be able to process 700 million litres per day (MLD) for consumers in areas within Klang.
He said under Phase One (2016 – 2022) of the Sungai Klang rejuvenation plan, the target is to reduce the volume of waste extracted in Sungai Klang by 40 per cent. By the end of 2021, a reduction of 38 per cent was achieved.
However, to increase it further, Izham said local councils located along Sungai Klang have also been instructed to install log booms at tributaries in their areas, which would start in three months.
“The councils include the Shah Alam City Council, Subang Jaya City Council, Petaling Jaya City Council and Klang Municipal Council. They will build it on their own with help from us concerning specification and how to do it,” he said.
Izham said the current garbage collection from the seven log booms and two interceptors along Sungai Klang stands at 800 metric tonnes (MT) from 1,500 previously. With the addition of the log booms, the authorities are targeting a reduction to 500 MT per month.
He added that the state government would also start dredging Sungai Klang to increase its capacity which is estimated to cost between RM500 million to RM700 million and is expected to commence in three month.
He said in the third quarter of this year, the state government will also start implementing the ‘zero discharge’ and ‘polluters pay principle’ policies in industrial areas to reduce the number of polluters.
Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB), a subsidiary of the state government, has been given the mandate to lead the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project, including cleaning and conservation efforts in Sungai Klang as well as other sustainable developments in the surrounding area.
Formerly considered one of the world’s dirtiest rivers, a drastic change has come over Sungai Klang, with most of its waste removed since 2016.
