SHAH ALAM: Residents in Bandar Puteri Puchong and Puchong Hartamas were still facing water shortage although the Semenyih water treatment which was contaminated has resumed operation on Feb 15.
Selangor Infrastructure, Public Amenities and Agro-Based Industry committee chairman Zaidy Abdul Talib said 50 per cent of Bandar Puteri Puchong is still experiencing water shortage while 75 per cent of Puchong Hartamas is back to normal.
He said the contamination was caused by a spill at a nearby factory in Sungai Purun, Semenyih which has since ceased operation.
More than 135,000 residents were affected as the spillage had depleted the quality of water and contaminated it with high level of manganese and ammonia that was way below the healthy limit.
Zaidy said the factory was believed to have operated without complying to the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
"The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) and the state Department of Environment are continuing their investigation to see if there are other factors that contribute to the contamination.
"This is not the first incident where the Semenyih treatment plant was forced to close due to contamination. Before this, contamination was caused from a mismanaged waste disposal plant in Pajam.
"As part of our effort to ensure continuous clean water supply in the state, the state government, through LUAS, the DOE and the local governments will not hesitate to take action against any operation found to have contributed to contamination in our rivers
"We are deeply sorry that the incident recently has affected the residents especially in light of the Chinese New Year celebration and will work hard to ensure that it will not repeat in the future," he said.