Odour pollution in Sungai Selangor: Police open investigation paper

KUALA LUMPUR: The police have opened an investigation paper on the odour pollution in Sungai Selangor that resulted in water supply disruption to 1.2 million account holders or almost five million consumers in the Klang Valley since yesterday.

Selangor police chief Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin said Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) and the Department of Environment (DOE) are assisting the police in the investigation.

He said the investigation was still in the early stage and water samples had to be sent for analysis to determine the cause of the pollution.

“The process takes time and requires the assistance of experts and the forensics. Stern action will be taken against those responsible for causing the pollution,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

Yesterday, Environment and Water Minister, Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said Phase 1,2 and 3 of the Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plants (LRA) and Rantau Panjang LRA were suspended due to pollution of raw water resources at 2 am yesterday.

He said preliminary investigation found that solvent was the cause of the odour pollution and that the smell of solvent was similar to the earlier incident in early September which was still under investigation.

He said the ministry had identified several industrial areas as the source of the pollution and did not rule out the dumping of solvent by illegal factories operating around Selangor

Following which, he said, several factory areas were identified as the cause of the pollution and did not rule out the possibility that the solvent was disposed off by illegal factories operating around Selangor.

Some 1,196,457 Air Selangor account holders in 1,292 areas in Klang Valley experienced another water supply disruption when operation of Phase 1,2 and 3 of the Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plants (LRA) and Rantau Panjang LRA was suspended pollution at the raw water source.

-- BERNAMA