Sungai Gong Factories Linked To Latest Water Disruption

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Factories in Sungai Gong are believed to be behind the latest water disruption that is affecting consumers in 1,292 areas in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur
The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) said it had launched investigations alongside Air Selangor and other agencies following the closure of several water treatment plants this morning due to water pollution
"For now, odour sampling is being conducted near the premises of a suspect industrial zone in Sungai Gong, which is releasing a solvent-like smell into the river," it said in a statement today
Luas explained that Sungai Gong is one of the tributaries of Sungai Sembah, which feeds into the Sungai Selangor where the Rantau Panjang water treatment plant is located 17 kilometres downstream
In a separate statement, Air Selangor echoed Luas' statement and said the industrial premises involved had been shut by local authorities at 2.30pm today
Luas said it is also attempting to dilute the polluted water by pumping 400 million litres of water per day from a pond in Bestari Jaya and releasing 500 million litres per day from the Sungai Tinggi Dam
It has also lifted a river gate at the Bestari Jaya Barrage in a bid to flush the river
Despite these efforts, Air Selangor said it would take some time to restore water supply to the affected residents completely
"Although the premises have been shut, there is still residual pollution in the river. In the meantime, Air Selangor cannot produce 2.7 billion litres of water per day for consumers in 1,292 areas
"The unscheduled water disruption is expected to take a long time to fully recover because all four affected plants have been shut for more than ten hours," it said
Apart from the Rantau Panjang water treatment plant, the other affected plants are Sungai Selangor plants phases 1, 2, and 3
Air Selangor said water samples collected near the plant found that odour pollution is still present, with a threshold odour number (TON) of three
The areas affected by the water disruption cover seven districts in Selangor - namely Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat - in addition to Kuala Lumpur. - Mkini

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