Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi
KUCHING: Water at the Kelalong/Assyakirin Reservoir in Bintulu is tested on a regular basis to ensure the quality and safety of the raw water, said Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi yesterday.
The Assistant Minister of Utilities (Water Supply) said Laku Management Sdn Bhd (Laku) had received no reports or complaints on any raw water contamination at the reservoir.
“As a water supply operator, Laku carries out raw water quality monitoring on a daily basis in accordance with the requirements specified in the National Drinking Water Quality Standards (NDWQS) issued by the Ministry of Health (MoH).
“At the same time, NREB (Natural Resources and Environment Board) also carries out raw water quality monitoring on a quarterly basis. To date, there has been no violation of the raw water quality parameters,” he said when replying to Chiew Chiu Sing (DAP-Tanjong Batu) in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday.
To ensure that the treated water quality complied with NDWQS and is safe for human consumption, Dr Abdul Rahman said Laku has been carrying out in-house monitoring of water quality from the raw water extraction point up to the water treatment plant outlet.
He said this was done at more frequent intervals and at every stage of the water treatment process as well as along the distribution system and consumer interface.
Dr Abdul Rahman revealed Laku is also collecting water samples for the Department of Chemistry (DoC) to test, based on the schedules provided by MoH.
“If contaminants are detected at the Assyakirin Reservoir, Laku will report to the relevant authorities on any violation of water quality parameters or the presence of contaminants in the water catchment area,” he said in response to a supplementary question.
Dr Abdul Rahman said in such cases Laku would also stop raw water extraction from the river concerned, in accordance with the Emergency Response Plan, to ensure that the contaminants do not enter the water treatment plant.
He added Laku would also execute Water Safety Plan procedures in place.
“The frequency of testing raw water quality and the parameters come under Group I on microbial and physical parameters done on a weekly basis, Group II on chemical parameters done on a monthly basis, Group III on heavy metal parameters done on a quarterly basis, and Group IV on pesticides or herbicides parameters done on a quarterly basis.
“For Group I, the parameters comprise pH, colour, and turbidity; while Group II covers chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, ammonia, nitrate, total hardness, fluoride, chloride, iron, manganese, and aluminium,” he said.
“For Group III, the parameters include arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium, silver, copper, zinc, magnesium, sodium, selenium and sulphate. And for Group IV, the parameters are aldrin, dieldrin, 4-DDT, heptachlor, lindane, endrin, methoxychlor, alpha chlordane, gamma chlordane, endrin aldehyde, alpha-BHC, beta-BHC, delta-BHC, heptachlor epoxide, alpha endosulfan, 4-DDE, beta endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, and 4-DDD,” he added.
Responding to another supplementary question, Dr Abdul Rahman said the Bintulu water catchment area was gazetted in 1996.
“So it is considered an area protected under the law, there will be no trespassers. The raw water quality has been tested either daily or quarterly, and this has been done all the time, either by Laku and NREB as well as the assistance from DoC and MoH.
“If there is any evidence of contaminants, we will be able to detect, because it (testing) is done on a daily or quarterly basis,” he stressed.
Apart from that, he said Laku also provided 24-hour security.
“So if you were to go to the reservoir as well as the nearby Kelalong dam, you can see our security officers there 24 hours. This ensures the security of the place,” he added.