‘Water industry funds mismanaged’

post by Susanne Chi

‘Water industry funds mismanaged’

KUALA LUMPUR: International studies indicate that 20%-40% of the financial resources in the water industry is drained by corruption, through revenue leakage, misallocation of funds to a nonperforming department and procurements, said social activist Josie Fernandez.

The lack of transparency intensifies water scarcity, she said at the “Coping with Water Scarcity” seminar here in conjunction with the recent World Water Day.

“The money is not in the water but in procurement and I think the public should be able to sit as a member of the boards in water operators and water supply companies to ensure open and transparent procurements,”said Fernandez,a member of anti-corruption group, Transparency
International (TI) Malaysia.

Citing the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board in Pakistan as an example, she said it had managed
to reduce costs through an integrity pact, involving the stakeholders, Karachi’s district government,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town,13 union councils and the TI-Pakistan Secretariat.

“Studies showed that in opening tenders and bidding processes for the replacement of pipe projects,
there was more than 500% cost reduction in acquiring pipes alone,” she said.

Fernandez also pointed out that community participation,particularly women,was essential in
conserving water.

Global Environment Centre’s project director, Dr. K. Kalithasan, said the conditions of water
resources and services were the effect of human activities and it was the people’s responsibility to ensure that quality was good.

Puncak Niaga signs deal on water plant

post by Susanne Chi

17-08-2007: Puncak Niaga signs deal on water plant

KUALA LUMPUR: Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd has entered into a 28-year concession agreement with the Selangor state government for the operation and maintenance of the Sungai Lolo water treatment plant in Hulu Langat.

In a statement yesterday, Puncak Niaga said its 82.5%-owned subsidiary Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd (PNSB) has been appointed as the operator to manage, maintain and refurbish raw water intake, and the extended treatment plant.

It said a separate novation agreement was also signed between the Selangor government, PNSB and Puncak Niaga’s 70%-owned subsidiary Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) through which Syabas assumes all of the state’s rights under the operation and maintenance agreement.

Puncak Niaga said under the concession period from Dec 1, 2006 until Dec 31, 2034, PNSB had been granted the right to abstract raw water from Sungai Lolo or other sources as agreed by the director of Water Regulatory Department.

It would also have access and exclusive use of the plant area as well as the right to sell in bulk treated water produced from the operation of the facility to the state government.

Under the novation agreement, Syabas will assume the state government’s obligations with regards to the purchase of treated water from PNSB, payment for the bulk supply and all of the other obligations. Puncak Niaga said the execution of the agreements was not expected to have any effect on its earnings for the current financial year.

Religious Groups, NGOs Hold Gathering On Water Conservation

post by Susanne Chi

July 18, 2007 17:55 PM

Religious Groups, NGOs Hold Gathering On Water Conservation

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Religious groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in their efforts to instill greater awareness among the public on the importance of conserving water, will be holding a discussion on the subject at Masjid Negara here on Aug 4.

The gathering will deliberate the different religious views on human rights to water and is themed "United for Water: Religions Speak on the Rights to Water" and will specifically refer to the United Nations's General Comment No 15.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud at a press conference on it here Wednesday, said: "The event hopes to raise awareness among Malaysians to conserve water and to respect and protect human rights to the precious resource."

The event is jointly organised by various organisations including Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia (BMSM), Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS), Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) and MTUC.

International Movement for a Just World (Just) president Dr Chandra Muzaffar will deliver the keynote address while papers will be presented by other speakers including the general-secretary of CCM, Rev Dr. Hermen Shastri and the president of Buddhist Maha Vihara, Sarath W. Surendre.

Those interested in participating in it can e-mail their details to monitoring.globalisation@gmail.com or call Simon Lee at 012-6332349.

NST Online » Local News 2007/09/27

posted by NEO SEP 060157

Have will, can get clean rivers

Enforcement has ensured that Sungai Siniawan remains pollution-free despite

the presence of pig farms nearby.

KUCHING: Sungai Siniawan and Sungai Sarawak Kanan in Bau district have an image to protect - they are considered among the cleanest rivers in Sarawak. Their water is now crystal clear.

The pig farms that polluted the rivers in the past have toed the line drawn by the Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB).There are between 20,000 and 30,000 pigs in Siniawan.Sungai Siniawan, which flows into Sungai Sarawak Kanan, is an example how a river can be rehabilitated. It used to be heavily polluted.NREB officials took samples of water discharged from Yin Yan Pig Farm into Sungai Siniawan on Monday, and found the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) over five days was recorded at 51.2mg per litre of water. This is well below the maximum 250mg/l under the water quality standard for the country.

The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of the samples taken from the river on Monday indicated that it was 299.8mg/l as against the maximum of 1,000mg/l under the Malaysian standard.The Total Suspended Solid (TSS) was recorded at 141.7mg/l, which was below the 300mg/l permitted by the Malaysian standard.“Talk that Sungai Siniawan is heavily polluted is untrue,” state government environmental adviser Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said yesterday.Samples taken from Sungai Sarawak Kanan also showed that its water was free from pollution.Results of analyses from samples taken on June 28 at five different points in Sungai Sarawak Kanan showed that the BOD, COD and TSS were below the permitted quality levels.

Dawos, who is the Mambong MP, and some NREB officials had gone to the Yin Yan Pig Farm on Monday to take samples of its discharge. He said the farm had followed the guidelines issued by the NREB, such as construction of four lagoons and other facilities to keep its premises clean and tidy.The lagoons are used to separate waste from the water.“You can see that the water at the fourth lagoon is clear and ready to be discharged into the river.” Dawos said the state government had realised the need to regulate livestock farms in Sarawak because many of them were found to be discharging waste into the rivers.As a result, the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance was enacted by the state legislative assembly in 1999.

Dawos said the state government gave the livestock breeders a grace period of five years to meet the requirements and conditions stipulated by the ordinance.“Although we knew that many pig farms, for example, in Siniawan, were polluting the rivers, we did not take action against them. We gave them time to meet the requirements and, at the same time, we told them what they should do with their farms.”Nevertheless, he said some farms were fined when they were slow in meeting the requirements.“Now, however, all of them have toed the line.”

Under Part V of the ordinance pertaining to livestock farming, any farm with 100 head of cattle, pigs or goats and any farm with 1,000 chickens, ducks or geese is required to have a licence issued by the state veterinary authority to operate.Any person operating a farm without the licence faces a penalty of RM5,000 or two years’ jail or both .On regulations concerning the environment, the ordinance gives powers to the NREB to act.Dawos said based on these powers, the NREB required all pig farms to submit a half-yearly report to it pertaining to the pig population, among others.

Too many calls for Puspel to handle

post by Susanne Chi

Monday July 9, 2007

Too many calls for Puspel to handle

THIS is a common problem often faced by consumers - calling Syabas' toll-free Puspel helpline, only to have the call not picked up or be transferred from one extension to another.

The Pusat Perkhidmatan Pelanggan (Puspel) toll-free line is one of the channels consumers throughout Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya can contact should they have any problems or enquiries about water supply services.

The 1800-88-5252 line is operational 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

“There are 60 lines available for the Puspel helpline, but the company has to handle about 2,000 phone calls every day,” said Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Division general manager Abdul Halem Mat Som.

“There are some calls that will be abandoned, but we’ll get someone to entertain the calls on the caller's second attempt.”

On a recent complaint that calls to Puspel on the low water pressure issue in the SS1, SS2 and SS3 areas in Petaling Jaya were not picked up, he said that it could be that the callers tried calling only once.

“We apologise for the difficulties faced by them. If consumers' calls don't go through the first time, I’d suggest that they try calling again and we'll get somebody to answer their call,” said Abdul Halem.

Tender Out Next Month For RM3.8 Bln Pahang-Selangor Water Transfer Project

post by Susanne Chi

August 29th, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- The Energy Water and Communications Ministry will open the tender for the RM3.8 billion worth Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer project by next month. It will be an international tender exercise.

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said the pre-qualification exercise has already been completed and the ministry was determined to carry out a proper tender exercise.

A proper tender will be probably be out in a month's time, he said, adding that the whole exercise was expected to take about two to three months to finish.

Lim was speaking to reporters after delivering a keynote address at the Fourth National Utilities Summit 2007, here Tuesday.

The Pahang-Selangor water project will involve the construction of the Kelau Dam and a 44.6 km long water transfer tunnel bored through Titiwangsa Range to transport water from Pahang river to Selangor.

Work is expected to commence early next year while completion will be in five years.

Dr Lim said the project would enable the government to supply alternative water sources such as underground water.

He said that a proper tender exercise for the project, estimated at RM3.8 billion could be reduced to RM3 billion.

On the project's infrastructure, he said the ministry has decided to award the construction of a water treatment plant namely `Langat 2' to Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB).

He said the award was timely and KDEB was a suitable candidate as it has been helping the ministry in preparing the infrastructure for the project.

The infrastructure works will cost about RM2 billion.

The water treatment plant under Langat 2 will have a capacity of 2,180 million litres per day and a network of pipes to distribute the treated water.

What Do You Mean, “Never Mind the ‘Smelly’ Water?

post by Susanne Chi

The Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP) is most concerned with the misleading report provided by the New Straits Times dated 27^th March 2006 on the analysis of the tap water in Klang Valley.

The analysis is dubious for the following reasons:

1. The NST reported that water samples sent for testing was collected on March 13, 2006. The pollution of tap water was first reported immediately after the floods on February 25th to 26th 2006. There is a significant time lag of almost two weeks between the reported pollution and the samples collected for analysis.

2. It is unclear whether the samples were collected from relevant locations. It is also unclear how many samples were taken and whether the quality of the samples taken is sufficient to make the findings statistically valid.

3. It is unclear who ALS Technichem (M) Sdn. Bhd is. Are they an accredited firm with a proven ability to test water quality? Does this firm have the necessary equipment to test for heavy metals such as arsenic?

4. The standard used (Standard B of the Third Schedule in the Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulations 1979 are standards for discharge from factories into rivers. It is not the standard for in stream water quality. Therefore this is not the standard to evaluate quality of in stream water.

The NST should not rely on these samples and analysis to conclude that the water consumed is safe.

The NST should consult reports from the following authorities to determine if the drinking water is safe for consumption.

The standard set by the Ministry of Health is the National Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality Standards 1983 which states among other requirement that “drinking water must be clear, colourless and odourless” – all of which Syabas has failed to meet during polluted water crisis.

The Department of Environment is the final authority when it comes to the standard of water quality in stream (water quality in the river) and the Department of Environment has clearly stated that the ammonia content was 10 times higher than the previous level.

The Selangor government should also investigate the concessionaire based on the Selangor Water Enactment if the standards of water quality have been breached.

Therefore, we ask the Ministry of Health, Malaysia and the Department of Environment, Malaysia to publish their findings on the water quality of the Sungai Selangor as well as our drinking water supplied during the water pollution crisis.

CAWP also once again calls upon the government:

(i) to determine if Syabas was:
a) negligent;
b) compromised prescribed water quality standards; and
c) endangered public health in the affected areas;

(ii) to determine if Syabas should compensate water users in the affected areas;

(iii) To ensure, safeguard and protect catchment areas and strictly control any development within the catchment areas, especially upstream of the treatment plants. The government must enact laws to protect catchment areas and any form of developments in these areas;

(iv) to closely monitor of all existing sewage oxidation pond and sewage plant in water catchment areas and introduce warning system in case of pollution discharge;

(v) to declassify the Syabas concession agreement for public scrutiny;

(vi) To revoke the Concession Agreement with Syabas and take over the management of water in the state. The responsibility of supplying clean, safe, clear, odourless water to consumers should be the sole responsibility of the government and not left in the hands of the private sector.


Issued By:
Charles Santiago, Co-ordinator,
Coalition Against Water Privatisation.
H/p: 019-3150939