SPAN formed a Special Committee to investigate incidents of water supply disruption caused by pollution

PUTRAJAYA: The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) will set up a Special Committee to investigate incidents of water service interruptions caused by pollution, particularly in Selangor.

In today’s statement, SPAN informed SPAN that the Special Committee will act to gather information and evidence and examine all aspects related to incidents of water service interruptions caused by pollution.

“(The Special Committee) then proposed improvement measures that could be used as best practices by all interested parties to ensure the sustainability of water supply,” according to the statement.

SPAN said various parties and government agencies will be directly involved in the data collection process, including the Department of Environment (DOE), state raw water resource management bodies, local authorities, and water service operators in related states.

“This committee will be established immediately and is expected to be completed within 45 days from the first session,” he said.

SPAN takes seriously the recent incidents of odor pollution in Sungai Sembah and Sungai Kundang, resulting in unscheduled water supply disruptions to more than a million consumers in 7 areas in the state of Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur from July 23 until yesterday.

Referring to the incident, SPAN also opened an investigation paper on July 24 on the identified suspect.

An investigation is made under Section 121(1)(c) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655) for the offense of polluting or causing to be polluted the water supply system or any water supply system, and if convicted of the offense, they can be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 10 years or fined not more than RM500,000.

SPAN is committed to ensuring that any misconduct against clean water and its sources will be dealt with as soon as possible and further ensure appropriate punishment is imposed on the perpetrators.