Projects to improve condition of rivers
PUTRAJAYA: Two pilot projects in Kedah and Selangor are underway to improve the water quality and condition of rivers in the country.
Currently, both Sg Kedah and Sg Selangor are polluted rivers in the A4 to A5 category due to their vicinity to agricultural and industrial sites along their lengths.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said the two experimental river-basin management projects were being conducted by the Department of Irrigation and Department (DID).
“The ministry is drafting a law that will see the setting up of a river basin authority in the future. But before this can take off, DID has to carry out the projects so that we will know the impact of such a management plan on the water quality of our rivers.
“This will ensure that we cover all the relevant issues arising from such a plan while drafting it,” he told reporters after giving away excellence service awards to ministry staff here Tuesday.
Sg Kedah and Sg Selangor were chosen for the projects because the rivers flowed within the boundary of their respective states, added Azmi.
“The project in Sg Selangor is being developed with technical assistance and expertise from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida).
“Some 50% of our rivers are still in the clean category of A2. However, this may not last long if we continue neglecting our rivers,” he said, adding that 17 of the rivers were already in the polluted level.
The river basin management authority for each of the country’s 189 rivers had been mooted back in 2003 and was recently revived as a way of securing the quality of drinking water, much of which is being drawn from these sources.
On the proposal by YTL Corp Bhd to clean up Malaysian rivers, Azmi said the Economic Planning Unit was studying this.
“The model for the project is very good as it wants to use the technology of Britain-based Wessex to clean up our rivers. But the capital costs are very high,” he said.
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