PUB temporarily suspends operations at Johor water treatment plant following reported river pollution

PUB has temporarily suspended operations at its Johor River Waterworks treatment plant as a precaution, after reports of pollution in the Johor River.

In response to media queries, the national water agency added on Saturday (Nov 1) that water supply in Singapore remains unaffected as it has stepped up production at local plants to meet demand.

According to a Bernama report on Friday, Malaysia's Environment Department (DOE) had investigated the incident and confirmed that a "bund silt pond" had been damaged, believed to be caused by sand dredging activities in upstream Sungai Johor.

The damage caused silt to flow into the river, according to Johor DOE director Dr Mohd Famey Yusoff in a statement.

He said that the Johor water regulatory body, Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (Bakaj), had ordered the sand dredging operation to be stopped immediately and repair works to be carried out, but "the escaped 'silt' could not be contained as it continued to flow into the river".

In its statement, PUB stated that it is closely monitoring the raw water quality in the Johor River. "Operations will resume when water quality checks show that the Johor River quality is back to normal," it added.

This is not the first time that PUB has shut down the Johor River Waterworks due to pollution.

In April 2019, several water treatment plants in Johor, including PUB's Johor River Waterworks, were temporarily shut due to high levels of ammonia pollution along Sungai Sayong and Sungai Johor.

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candicecai@asiaone.com