THE Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) announced the shutdown of four water treatment plants in the state after odour pollution was detected today at noon.

The state water board said in a statement that a solvent-like odour has been detected in Sg Selangor, prompting the shutdown of the Rantau Panjang plants at 12.20pm.

“The smell was detected with a reading of about 8 TON (threshold odour number) at Rantau Panjang.

“At 6am, the previous reading record was 0 TON,” said Luas.

Consumers are expected to begin experiencing water supply disruption from 6pm today, Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd said in a separate statement.

It did not say how long supply disruption is expected to last.

The disruption will affect 1.14 million account holders in 1,279 areas across Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat.

Updates on the affected areas can be found on Air Selangor’s social media platforms, it added.

“Flushing” work to remove the pollution in Sg Selangor has begun, it added, with water released from the Selangor Dam and from holding ponds.

This is the third disruption in recent months affecting Klang Valley consumers.

Early last month, the Sg Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi water treatment plants were shut down due to river contamination.

Later the same month, Sg Selangor water treatment plants 1, 2 and 3, and the Rantau Panjang plant were also closed after pollution was detected in the river.

September also saw six days of supply disruption involving the same water treatment plants due to river pollution. – November 10, 2020.