THE mega River of Life project’s completion date has been extended by another four years to 2024 but it is already proving to be a stellar urban river restoration initiative.

In January, it was listed in the world’s top 10 waterfront districts by the Independent, a UK newsportal.

Zooming in on the scenic Masjid Jamek, situated in the historic area where Sg Klang and Sg Gombak converge, the portal said it is the focus of one of the most expensive urban river restoration projects ever undertaken but “it has paid off… today, there are riverside cafes, hi-tech fountains, bicycle paths and night-time light show which turns the water into stunning cobalt blue”.

Before the RM3.36 billion project kicked off in 2011, both rivers reeked of rotting rubbish, industrial effluents and sewage, especially after a downpour, and their waters were forever murky.

The project, led by the Ministry of Federal Territories in partnership with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (DID), Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and other agencies and organisations, is aimed at reviving Sg Klang and Sg Gombak and transforming their banks into waterfront areas with economic and commercial value through river cleaning (along a 110-km stretch in the Sg Klang basin which also covers Sg Gombak and eight tributaries), beautification and land development.   

DID river basin management division director Md Khairi Selamat said to date, 94% of the project has been completed and the four-year extension is to enable the remaining work packages to be completed.

DID is working together with local communities to transform riverbanks into sustainable sites that are easily accessible to the public.   

“We’re not only focusing on cleaning up the riverbanks but are also looking into the water quality to ensure that we attain a quality index that allows body contact without causing any skin irritation,” he said.  

Khairi said DID has installed 309 grease traps, 588 rubbish traps, 10 treatment plants and 15 river water treatment plants since the start of the project in 2011.

“In the early stages, it was a challenge for us to clean up the polluted and stinking rivers. The traps we installed collected all types of rubbish and foreign matter floating in the rivers which we later disposed of in accordance with the standard operating procedure,” he said.

Household furniture, electrical items and even motorcycle frames were recovered from the rivers.

Khairi said the success of the project is highly dependent on collaboration between government agencies and the community.

The project aims to teach the public on how to improve their attitude and behaviour towards rivers and to view them as assets and to feel a sense of ownership.

“We don’t want them to treat rivers as dumping grounds for their rubbish, instead we want them to foster a caring attitude towards rivers.”

The Department of Environment, DBKL, DID and local councils have also helped to set up “river communities” such as “Friends of Sg Gombak” and “Friends of Sg Batu” to help monitor the rivers.

Global Environment Centre (GEC) river care coordinator Dr K. Kalithasan, meanwhile, said through the public-private initiative, his organisation has been educating the public to get to know their “river address” based on the map and location of their residence.

“It’s important for the people to get to know their river address, particularly those living near rivers. They must know where the source of their water supply is and where the wastewater from their homes flows into.

“When they get to know where their water supply comes from, they will become more wary of the threats to water supply, thus making it easier for them to identify the steps to be taken to safeguard raw water sources,” he said. – Bernama, September 24, 2020.