HULU SELANGOR: An illegal fish pond has been identified as the latest cause of pollution in Sungai Selangor.
State Environment, Green Technology, Science, Technology, Innovation and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the catfish aquaculture pond is located 8.7km from the Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plant (WTP), which is where the first traces of the pollution was detected.
Checks by the authorities found a direct discharge outlet connecting a 46.1ha fish pond to Sungai Selangor. There are a total of 57 fish ponds in the area.
The operations at four water treatment plants were temporarily halted last night following a pollution reading 4 TON (Threshold Odour Number).
Hee said the operator would face action under Section 79 of the Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) Enactment 1999.
Under the newly-amended enactment, the owner and operator could be slapped with a fine of between RM200,000 and RM1 million and jailed up to three years, upon conviction.
"The owner had obtained a 99-year lease to run the aquaculture pond in 2004. But he did not acquire approval (for planning permission) from the Hulu Selangor District Council.
"We will seal the area and demolish the premises. But it will take time, until all the fish are removed from there," he told reporters.
A police report was also lodged against the operator and Hee hopes that action will also be taken under Section 430 of the Penal Code for causing mischief by injury to works of irrigation or by wrongfully diverting water, which carries a jail term of between five and 30 years, fine, or both.
A notice under Section 122 of the LUAS Enactment has also been served in order to stop any discharge from the premises.
Asked about the reaction from the owner regarding the actions taken against him, Hee said the owner alleged he was innocent and claimed he had taken the necessary measures before the discharge was released to the river.
A total of 886,297 users were reportedly affected by the unscheduled water supply disruption earlier this morning as operations at the Sungai Selangor WTP Phase 1, 2 and 3, as well as the Rantau Panjang WTP were halted for five hours.
Hee said the incident led to unstable and low water pressure.
However, he assured consumers that the water supply would be restored in stages from 3pm today.
He said the Hybrid Off-River Augmentation System (HORAS) 600 helped in the dilution process, and the WTPs gradually began to resume operations within a few hours.