PIPE and tank cleaning work has commenced in the Sg Semenyih water treatment plant which should resume operation in about 12 hours, the Selangor water authority said today. 

In a statement, Air Selangor corporate communication chief Elina Baseri said the threshold odour number (TON) reading had reached zero at the plant.

The Bukit Tampoi water treatment facility remains closed due to detectable levels of pollution.

For water treatment to resume at the plants, the TON reading must register zero thrice in a row

“As of 6am today the level of pollution at the Sg Semenyih plant read 0 TON three times in a row but Bukit Tampoi still detects pollution with two TON,” said Elina.

She said it would take about 12 hours to get raw water treated and the system stabilised at the plant for restoration of water supply.

“Sg Semenyih has started operating raw water pumps this morning for the cleaning of water pipes and water treatment tanks,” said Elina

The plants’ failure to produce the daily 600 million litres of water has left more than 300,000 consumers high and dry in Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang. 

Elina said 92 tankers have been deployed to the affected areas to provide water, along with 22 static tanks, 10 local charging stations, nine local service centres and 13 public taps.

“Consumers can get information as well as clean water supply at the one-stop service centres.”

The plants were shut on Sunday after pollution was detected in the water source.

The shutdown comes less than a month after another case of river pollution left 1.2 million consumers in the Klang Valley without clean water supply for six days. 

The Sg Selangor Phase, 1, 2 and 3 and the Rantau Panjang water treatment plants shut down after a factory was suspected of dumping waste into Sg Gong, which feeds Sg Selangor.

Four brothers were charged with polluting the river. – October 6, 2020.