The Malaysian Water Association Quarterly
RM12 EM
ISSN: 1675-2392
KDN No. PP 6646/03/2013(032826)
Issue No. 25
Special Interview with Datuk Ir Abdul
Kadir Mohammad Din, CEO of Indah
Water Konsortium (IWK)
Returning Malaysia’s Rivers To Life
RM10 WM
MWA Council for 2013/2015 Session
President
Ir. Syed Mohamed Adnan Alhabshi
Water Malaysia
The Malaysian Water Association (MWA)
No. 24 Second Floor, Jalan Sri Hartamas 8, Taman Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA.
Tel: +603 6201 2250/9521 Fax: +603 6201 5801 Website: www.mwa.org.my
Deputy President
Ir. V Subramaniam
Vice Presidents
Mr. Sutekno bin Ahmad Belon
Prof. Ir. Hj. Mohamed Haniffa bin Abdul Hamid
REGULAR
2
Immediate Past President
Mr. Ahmad Zahdi bin Jamil
President’s Desk
FEATURED ARTICLES
Hon. Secretary General
Ir. Hj. Mohmad Asari bin Daud
3
Returning Malaysia’s Rivers to life
Hon. Treasurer General
Dato’ Ir. Hj. Zainal bin Bachik
5
Water Security: Embarking on a River
Bank Filtration Approach for Resource
Abstraction
Ordinary Council Members
Mdm. Amy Yew
Ir. Zulkiflee bin Ab Hamid
Ir. Beh Hong Lin
Ir. Tham Yee Kiong
Ir. Ong Guan Hock
Ir. Lim Soon Guan
Mr. Mansor bin Abdul Ghani
Mr. Sofian bin Salleh
Mr. Shaharis bin Saad
Mr. Mohamad Hairi bin Basri
Mr. Shamsul Fahmi bin Mohd Padzli
Editorial Committee Members
Ir. Syed Mohamed Adnan Alhabshi
Ir. Ong Guan Hock
Mr. Sofian Salleh
Mr. Lee Koon Yew
Mr. Shaharis Saad
Ms. Rubby Mahmod
Cover Picture
Photo of elevated Bandaraya Light Rail Transit
station built above the eastern bank of Gombak
River near Jalan Raja Laut in central Kuala
Lumpur. This river meets Bunus River in the
vicinity of Masjid Jamek to form the Klang
River.
Disclaimer
The Malaysian Water Association (MWA) quarterly
bulletin (“Water Malaysia”) is provided as a
service to our members. The articles written by
various authors and news from external sources
are published in good faith for the benefit of
our readers and do not necessarily reflect the
views of MWA. Further, we give no assurance
or warranty that the published information is
current or accurate and take no responsibility
for any losses or consequences arising from its
transmittal through the bulletin.
MWA ACTIVITIES
10
1203, 12th Floor, Block E, Phileo Damansara 1,
No. 9, Jalan 16/11, 46350 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Tel: +603-7960 1148 Fax: +603-7960 1152
pg 11
25th Annual General Meeting
EDUCATION & TRAINING
15
Water Treatment Plant Competency
Course (WTPCC)
16
Certified Environmental Professional
in Sewage Treatment Plant Operation
(CePSTPO)
pg 19
COUNTRY FOCUS
19
Kuala Lumpur’s experience with water
reforms
SPECIAL INTERVIEWS
25
Our work is dirty, difficult and
dangerous says Malaysia sewerage
chief
29
Phosphorus recovery must be factored
into long-term plans: James Barnard
pg 25
NEWS FROM AROUND THE
WORLD
Published on behalf of MWA by:
Asian Water Magazine, SHP Media Sdn Bhd
pg 4
33
ADB partners with 18 banks to help
Chinese cities
Printed by
Percetakan Osacar Sdn. Bhd.,
Lot 37659, No. 11, Jalan 4/37A,
Taman Bukit Maluri Industrial Area,
Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
WaterMalaysia
1
President’s Desk
Dear Readers,
The newly elected office bearers for the 2013/2015
session comprise professionals from policy makers,
water operators, consultants, contractors and suppliers
which speak well for MWA. We would like to record
our appreciation and gratitude for the members’
continuous support and contribution.
Special Interest Group (SIG) has been formed to
focus on various and immediate issues affecting the
industry. SIG will focus on selected issues, deliberate and
strategise on how to make our voice heard to enlighten
and guide policy makers and other stakeholders. The
objective is to escalate selected issues to the next level
closer to a solution for the benefits of the industry and
the consumers at large.
Presentation of MWA position paper by SIG
Committee on various topics at MWA Council Meetings
is generating a lot of interesting discussion and making
the Council Meeting an event looked forward to by
Council Members. With the positive response and warm
relationship with the media, we hope MWA will play a
key role in improving the industry for our members and
consumers in general.
In our media briefings, we have highlighted the issues
on funding of non-revenue water (NRW) reduction
programme and the severity of water shortage in
Selangor,Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Back in 1998, the water crisis then caused 1.8
million consumers in the Klang Valley to live with water
disruptions for six months because of a severe drought.
Since then, the population has increased tremendously
in the Greater Klang Valley. As such, a water crisis in
the Greater Klang Valley in the near future is bound to
cause even more hardship than that in the last crisis.
This is especially so when more people are living in
high-rise apartments and walk-up flats.
Besides, many economic development projects
from both foreign and local investors in Selangor,Kuala
Lumpur and Putrajaya have to be put on hold due
to the uncertainty of availability of sufficient water
supply.
These has partially affected the socio-economic
development of one of our most advanced states,
capital and the country’s major commercial hub
including our national image. This time, the low
water reserve capacity is not due to natural drought.
As Malaysia is blessed with abundant rainfall and
numerous river basins and catchment areas , the state
and federal governments should work together to find
a solution to water stress situation.
MWA welcomed Energy, Green Technology and
Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus J.Ongkili’s recent
call to the Selangor State Government to resolve the
issue of the Langat 2 treatment plant of raw-water
transfer from Pahang and the Selangor’s water industry
restructuring exercise within 3 months.
Meanwhile, we also urge the consumers in
Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to reduce
consumption of water as much as possible to help
2
WaterMalaysia
ease the current water stress
situation as Malaysia has one
DON’T MISS!
of the highest per capita
consumption of water in the
MWA 25th Anniversary
world.
Dinner
On the NRW issue, for the
Date : 8th Nov 2013
past 5 years between 2007 and
Venue : Shangri-La Hotel
Kuala Lumpur
2011, the national average
saw an improvement of only
less than 1% in the water
loss reduction rate. In 2011, Malaysia’s national NRW
average rate stood at 36.7% as compared to 17% in
South Korea.To minimise water loss,sufficient funding to
the tune of RM1 billion is required for setting up the basic
infrastructure under NRW programme,so that real time
data can be made available to water operators. If the
raising of fund is left to the water operators, who are
already burdened by the less remunerative revenue
derived from low water tariff, NRW programmes are
expected to be implemented on a piecemeal basis
and no significant long term results can be achieved.
Hence, we call for a long-term nationwide strategy
and implementation guideline to tackle non-revenue
water (NRW) loss and sustainable water tariff, which
would allow water operators to continue providing
efficient services.
On capacity building, MWA will continue and
accelerate its human capital development program
for the industry via Malaysian Water Academy through
various workshops and training programs with the main
objective of having more competent workforce in the
industry. More activities will be arranged for networking
and improvement of knowledge for the benefits of our
members. We are continuously thinking on how to
give back to our members that have provided strong
support to MWA over the
years.
This year, MWA will
celebrate its 25th annual
anniversary. A grand dinner
is being planned on 8th
November to showcase
the 25 years of success.
The founding members and
long contributing council
members will be invited to
grace the events.
Thank you
Yours sincerely,
SYED MOHAMED ADNAN ALHABSHI
President
Featured Article
RETURNING
MALAYSIA’S RIVERS
TO LIFE
A
s far as cleaning bills are concerned, the amount pledged by
the Malaysian Government to rehabilitate the Klang River will certainly
raise many eyebrows. Referred to as
the ‘River of Life’ (w w w.myrol.my),
the ambitious plan to clean up 120km
of the river over the next ten years is
expected to cost approximately RM20
billion. The initial programme of activities includes improving the river water
quality, building a new wastewater
treatment plant and examining the
best options for implementing commercial and residential projects along
specific stretches of the river bank.
This is no small sum and illustrates
the Gove r n ment com m itment to
improve the ecological, social and
economic ‘river-scape’ of Klang River
that has deteriorated so drastically.
The nature and size of the project is
drawing international interest and the
plan is likely to attract considerable
overseas investors along with positive
public relations for Malaysia.
While the scale of this project is unprecedented in Malaysia, river rehabilitation projects are not new. Melaka,
once referred to by European seafarers as the ‘Venice of the East’ has seen
its murky river remarkably transformed
in the last twenty years. Having deteriorated over many centuries, the
river was subsequently cleaned up
and investment directed into specific
areas adjacent to the river. Not only
has this made for an improved natural
and social environment, it has helped
boost economic prospects. Property
prices are a good proxy of the direct
economic impacts: houses adjacent
to the river once valued at around
RM300,000 per unit before rehabilitation have experienced an increase in
value to RM800,000 and more.
The case of the Sungai Melaka will
provide some useful experience and
lessons for those involved in the River of
Life project in the Klang Valley. Aside
from this example, there have been a
number of international case studies
and examples of best practices which
illustrate how the concept of river
rehabilitation is developing. A couple
of examples discussed below provide
reference to how rehabilitation could
be used as an impetus for economic,
social and environmental change.
River rehabilitation in Korea
A frequently-cited exemplar of river
rehabilitation is the Cheonggyecheon
River in South Korea’s capital city,
Seoul. Once a river housing makeshift homes and settlements along
its banks, successive administrations
decided it was a barrier to urban
development and economic growth.
During the late 1950s, it was subsequently covered over with thousands
of tonnes of concrete to make way
for a motorway. The river was not visible at street level and unsurprisingly,
considering its exclusion from public
view, it became the recipient of the
city’s unwanted and least desirable
waste materials.
It was only through the foresight
of the city’s mayor, who in 2002 took
the bold step of examining how the
river could be rejuvenated not just
for ecological improvement but for
socio-economic benefit as well, that
the Cheonggyecheon River has been
transformed and now enjoys a different status in the city’s urban development plan. From having no place at
all, the river is now the centre piece
of urban development. Rehabilitation
included ripping up an existing motorway and providing community access
to the river. This has brought with it significant economic and social benefits,
in addition to a marked improvement
in the river water quality. Unsurprisingly, property prices have increased
by 50% along certain stretches of the
river bank.
Moreover, the Cheonggyecheon
River case is not just an example of
a successful river rehabilitation programme; it also succeeded in bringing forth an improved and integrated
transport management system. The
complete removal of the highway
that was once located over the river
has resulted in one-way street systems,
bus- only lanes, downtown shuttle
bus services and increased subway
capacity. If such an example could
be replicated in Malaysia, there is
By Dr Rory Padfield
Senior Lecturer,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM),
Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
promise that the rehabilitation of the
Klang River could trigger a transportation reform within the densely built up
riverine zones.
And it does not stop at the Cheonggyecheon River. The success of this
project is having an influence on the
development approach adopted for
other schemes in South Korea. Having
realised the full extent of sustainable
benefits from maximising society’s
engagement with water, the South
Ko rean autho r ities have recently
taken steps to incorporate a similar
approach in the development of a
new city called Songdo. In keeping
with the idea of integrating the local
environment into the master plan for
the city, the developer plans to have
a clean, freshwater canal system
located at the centre of the city that
can be used to access the future commercial and residential centres.
An established engineering consulting firm, known internationally for
its expertise in devising sustainable
design and engineering solutions, has
been brought in to explore the technical options for the seawater canal. It
is clear that the developers are very
serious in their goal for a large scale
development that is in harmony with its
surrounding natural environment.
Tackling river pollution in the UK
A good example of a communitydriven river rehabilitation project can
be found in one of London’s most
deprived areas. Beam Parklands is located in East London in the flood plain
of a tributary of the River Thames. The
site is located within industrial and residential premises that are the legacy of
an industry built up by the Ford Motor
Company, which had adversely affected the local natural environment
over many years.
When complete, Beam Parklands
will provide a link to accessible wildlife-rich green corridors, connecting
the River Beam to surrounding green
spaces and the River Thames. This
project represents a significant component of the wider socio-economic
regeneration of the area which includes redevelopment of a residential
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Featured Article
Klang River near Pantai 1 STP which discharges treated effluent into it.
area and opening up a disused landfill
site to public access. Crucially, the
project will bring the local communities
closer to water and nature, fostering
more respect and interest in the natural
environment.
The River Wear in northeast England
is another good example of rehabilitation under challenging conditions.
Located in the heartland of the UK’s
industrial revolution, the River Wear was
not only an important source of water
for the region’s heavy industr y but
also a convenient disposal route for all
kinds of waste material. Unsurprisingly,
the River Wear was one of the most
polluted rivers in the UK throughout
much of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. Environmental reforms and
the decline of heavy industry have
resulted in a transformation of the river
water quality and the basin as a whole.
In 1965, just two salmon were caught
in the then-polluted River Wear which
contrasts with 1,531 caught in 2010.
Significantly, the transformation of
the river has been achieved thanks to
habitat improvement projects, tighter
regulation of polluting industries, and
work with farms and businesses to
reduce pollution and improve water
quality.
Towards sustainable catchment
management
While investing in an ambitious and expensive rehabilitation project is a very
positive step, this level of investment
should be regarded as the last resort.
Sustainable catchment management
and policies to ensure that river basins
do not subsequently require massive
and costly cleaning up work should be
the top priority. Setting aside the known
environmental, social and economic
impacts of inadequate river basin
management, it will be very costly to
justify this type of investment for each
polluted river basin in Malaysia.
Of course, sustainable catchment
management is easier said than done
and very few countries have managed
their path to development without the
partial sacrifice of rivers and streams.
Industr ialisation, urbanisation and
agricultural intensification, in particular, have all led to the widespread
development and alteration of rivers
and their floodplains throughout the
world.
In terms of impacts of development
on river water quality, Malaysia is no different; figures from 2010 indicate that
60% of all river basins were found to
be clean, 35% slightly polluted and 5%
polluted. The trend since 2006 indicates
that river water quality is improving; the
number of clean river basins was 91 in
2007 compared to 80 in 2006 and the
number of slightly polluted river basins
dropped from 56 in 2006 to 45 in 2007.
However, the number of polluted river
basins remains at seven which represents 5% of all basins (DoE, 2010).
To make a comparison with the UK
once again, the rivers are currently at
their healthiest state in over a century
with seven out of ten English rivers and
nine out of ten Welsh rivers achieving
‘very good’ or ‘good’ status in terms of
chemical and biological water quality.
River restoration and rehabilitation,
catchment-based approaches to river
management, improved legislation
and the protection of sites with high
ecological value are some of the main
factors for the recent resurgence in the
quality of UK’s rivers.
The role of the UK’s river enforcing
agency, the Environment Agency (EA),
has also been central to help meet
legislative compliance. The EA has
strong enforcement powers to penalise
polluters, revoke abstraction/discharge
licences and even invoke criminal and
court sanctions if necessary. Similar
to the UK, Malaysia has a number of
impor tant policies that govern the
management and monitoring of rivers.
However, enforcement of these policies is a limiting factor. The EA is playing a critical part in the improvement
of the UK’s rivers and could provide a
useful lesson for regulatory options in
Malaysia.
The River of Life project will not only
be a positive step for the region but
it could also be a catalyst for wider
change. Realisation of the need for effective river management and governance, including appropriate enforcement of new and existing legislation,
will not only assist in supporting the
government’s investment in the Klang
River but also in maintaining the quality
of Malaysia’s rivers for a long time after
the River of Life is finally completed.
For further details on Dr Rory’s research, please visit Tropical Catchments Research Initiative (TROCARI) website: www.trocari.com
4
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Featured Article
Water Security: Embarking on a
River Bank Filtration Approach
for Resource Abstraction
Mohd Nordin Adlan*, Hamidi Abdul Aziz*, Ismail Abustan*, Mohd Nawawi Mohd Nordin*,Rosli Saad*, Saim Suratman**,
Mohd Khairul Niza Shamsuddin**
*School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang.
**National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia, Lot 5377,Jalan Putra Permai, 43300 Seri Kembangan,Selangor,
Malaysia.
INTRODUCTION
eninsular Malaysia is drained by a
dense network of rivers and streams
with about 150 major river basins.
Major rivers that drain into the South
China Sea are the Kelantan, Terengganu, Dungun, Endau, and Sedili rivers.
Major river basins in East Malaysia tend
to be larger than those in Peninsular
Malaysia.
Out of an annual rainfall volume of
990 km3, 360 km3 (36 per cent) are lost
to evapotranspiration. The total surface
runoff is 566 km3 and about 64 km3 (7
per cent of the total annual rainfall)
contribute to groundwater recharge.
However, about 80 per cent of the
groundwater flow returns to the rivers
and is therefore not considered an
additional resource. The total internal
water resources of Malaysia are estimated at 580 km3/year.
This shows that protection of river
and groundwater are very important
in order to obtain a sustainable water
usage. River bank/bed filtration (RBF)
offers a good practice to treat and
protect the surface water as well as
groundwater. It is because RBF uses
the bed of a reservoir, lake or river and
an adjacent sand and gravel aquifer
as a natural filter. The technology can
be applied directly to existing surface
water reservoirs, streams, lakes and rivers, and now it is often a guiding factor
in the hydrogeological investigation of
new source supplies.
River bank filtration is the influx of
river water to the aquifer induced by
a hydraulic gradient. Collector wells
located on the banks at a certain distance from the river creates a pressure
head difference between the river and
aquifer, which induces the water from
the river to flow downward through the
porous media into the pumping wells.
By applying this system of drinking
water extraction, two different water
resources are used. On the one hand,
surface water from the river percolates
towards the well; and groundwater of
the surrounding aquifer is utilised (Michael Schön, 2006)
Most RBF systems are constructed
P
in alluvial aquifers located along riverbanks. These aquifers can consist of a
variety of deposits ranging from sand:
sand and gravel, to large cobbles and
boulders. Ideal conditions typically
include coarse-grained, permeable
water-bearing deposits that are hydraulically connected with riverbed
materials. These deposits are found in
deep and wide valleys or in narrow and
shallow valleys. RBF systems in deep
and wide valleys may have a wider
range of options since wells (vertical
and horizontal collector wells) can be
placed at greater depths (which can
provide higher capacities) and can be
placed further away from the river to
increase the degree of filtration.
For large or small scale RBF, the production well will be constructed to col-
lect the water from riverbank filtration
and the number of production wells
will be based on population demand.
In Germany the production wells of
RBF range from 20 to 600,000 m3/day.
In Berlin, RBF consists of 116 wells, 3060m deep and distance to the lake of
100m. The pumping rate for each well
ranges from 50 to 150m3/hour, leading
to a capacity of up to 260,000 m3/day
used for the drinking water supply for
700,000 inhabitants (Hoffmann and
Gunkel, 2011). The production well does
not only receive a portion from bank
filtration but also from groundwater,
recharged in the landward catchment
area. Therefore, the abstracted raw
water from production well is a mixture
of waters, where each of the water has
different chemical composition. While
Figure 1 : Research approach
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Featured Article
groundwater-quality depends on the treatment methodology. Collaborations
land use in the catchment area (urban, were also made with researchers from
agriculture, etc.), bank filtration-quality Universiti Malaya, UiTM and NAHRIM.
depends on river water quality and Three river basins were chosen based
the efficiency of purification processes on the environmental issues, water deduring riverbank filtration (Ray et al. mand, site availability, comparison of
2002). Hence, the assessment of the study parameters as well as economic
bank filtration/groundwater ratio and distance of sites from USM. These sites
the extent of the catchment area play are Langat, Perak and Kerian rivers baan important role in determining the sins. This paper will focus on the Langat
resultant quality of the water in produc- river basin.
tion wells.
Typical aquifers used for RBF consist RESEARCH APPROACH
of alluvial sand and gravel deposits Under a Long Term Research Grant
with a hydraulic conductivity greater Scheme (LRGS), USM and UTM research
than approximately 10 m/day (Goldsch- teams are focussing on a niche area of
neider et al., 2007). The advantages of water security for a period of 5 years.
RBF include reductions in turbidity, total The research covers aspects of resource
coliforms, microbial contaminants, nat- abstraction using river bed/bank filtraural organic matter and organic con- tion, advance water treatment and
taminants (Tufenkji et al.,2002; Wang et social study. The integrated approach
al., 2002). Several studies have revealed of the research project is shown in Figure
that RBF is highly effective in reducing 1. The total grant to be allocated for this
the risk of Giardia and Cryptosporidium project is RM4.56 million.
contamination of drinking water when
The study site for Langat river basin
flow path length and filtration time are is located at Kg Jenderam Hilir, Dengkil
sufficient (Berger, 2002; Hiscock and which is approximately 4 km to the south
Grischek, 2002; Gollnitz et al., 2003) of raw water intake of SYABAS water
besides removing some pesticides and treatment plant. The latter is currently
pharmaceuticals (Kuehn and Muel- taking raw water from Sg. Langat to
ler, 2000). Undesirable effects of bank be treated and supplied for public
filtration on water quality can include water supply to the surrounding areas.
increases in hardness, ammonium and As the RBF site is situated downstream
dissolved iron and manganese concen- of the water treatment plant, future
trations and the formation of hydrogen comparison on the cost of treatment
sulphide and other malodorous sulphur and the viability of RBF as an alternative
compounds as a result of changing re- source is plausible in the context of its
dox conditions (Hiscock and Grischek, application.
2002).
Currently RBF study is not well docu- GEOLOGY OF THE AREA
mented in Malaysia. The development The Langat Basin has an area of about
is hindered by big project such as inter 2,100 km2, and which comprises about
basins water transfer. As more rivers are 1,155 km2 of hilly and mountainous
getting polluted, such scheme could terrain and 945 km 2 of coastal plain.
not materialise in the near future. In Figure 2 shows the general geological
view of the future needs emphasiz- map of the Langat Basin. The bedrock
ing on resource abstraction, a group of
researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM) has embarked
on the exploration
of this untapped resource. A proposal was
made to the then Ministry of Higher Education for an integrated
approach gathering
researchers from different institutions to
research on specific
topics ranging from
resource abstraction
to t r e a t m e nt. U S M
resea rche r s a re fo cusi ng on resou rce
abstraction whereas
those from Universiti
Tek no l og i Ma l aysia
(UTM) are focusing on Figure 2 : Geology of Langat Basin
6
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in the mountainous area includes Permian igneous rocks and Pre-Devonian
schist and phyllite of the Hawthornden
Formation. Hawthornden Formation
rocks are highly deformed and have
undergone two phases of deformation
(Gobbet and Hutchison 1973). The predominant rocks in the foothills include
Permo-Carboniferous meta-sandstone,
quartzite, slates, phyllites and quartz
schist of Kenny Hill Formation.
On the coastal plain, Quaternary deposits of the Simpang, Kempadang,
Gula, and Beruas Formation are found.
There is also unconformable overlay
eroded bedrock consisting of gravel,
sand, silt, and clay that have been
unconsolidated from the Palaeocene
through the Holocene period, which
have progressively grown younger and
thicker toward the coast (Gobbet and
Hutchison 1973). In general, these sediments grade downward from gravel to
clay, and are deposited in fluvial and
shallow marine environments. Coarse
to ver y-coarse sandy gravel of the
Simpang Formation (Palaeocene to
Pliocene) at the base of the Quaternary
strata is considered to be the primary
aquifer of the Langat Basin. Typically,
the aquifer near the foothills has a
thickness of several metres, and varies
from about 50 m to more than 100 m further toward the coast (JICA and MGD
2002). The geology of the Sepang and
Kuala Langat District is characterized
by the Kenny Hill Formation, Schist Hawthorden, granite, and alluvium (Abdullah Sani 1985). The Kenny Hill Formation,
Hawthorden, and granite have a series
of faults. The geology of the study area
consists of phyllite, schists, slate and
sandstone layers, which alternate with
the Kenny Hill Formation with some conglomerates overlain by alluvium consisting of sand, gravel, clay, and silt.
Featured Article
POTENTIAL OF RIVERBANK FILTRATION
A pumping well has been constructed by NAHRIM and the
borehole log is shown in Figure 3. From the borehole it can be
deciphered that this area is rich in alluvial soil which is a good
potential for raw water. A resistivity survey was conducted
by USM team to understand the underneath soil stratification
and the layout of resistivity lines are shown in Figure 4. Details
of Lines 6 and 7 which passed through the pumping well are
shown in Figures 6 and 7. From the resistivity survey (included
other lines as shown in Figure 4), it has revealed further data
on the soil stratification within this alluvial basin which reinforces our findings that it has suitable soil for water abstraction. Thus observation wells have been constructed as shown
in Figure 7.
Figure 5 : Line 6
Figure 6 : Line 7
Figure 3 : Borehole log of pumping well at Jenderam Hilir,
Dengkil, Selangor.
Figure 7 : Layout of pumping well and monitoring wells
prior to pumping test.
Figure 4 : Layout for resistivity survey lines
In order to ascertain the potential of this location for water
source abstraction, pumping test needs to be carried out.
Prior to pumping test, a step test was carried out in order to
make a judgement on the abstraction rate. Results from step
tests are shown in Tables 1, 2 and Figure 8. From these results
the drawdown at a flow rate of 142.21 m3 per hour (3.4 million
litres per day) after 120 minutes is only 1.73m from the original
static water level in the pumping well.
During the step tests, a resistivity survey was also conducted. The result is shown in Figure 9 which revealed concentration of blue colour element surrounding the pumping well.
However further refinement could be done if several resistivity
lines were made.
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Featured Article
Table 1: Raw data for step drawdown test (0 to 7.5 minutes)
Table 2: Raw data for step drawdown test (10 to 100 minutes)
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Featured Article
Figure 8 : Graph of step tests
Figure 9 : Resistivity survey during step tests
A Malaysian River with potential for exploration in river bed/bank
filtration.
CONCLUSION
Initial results from this study, which was
funded by Ministry of Education under
LRGS, on water security entitled “Protection of Drinking Water for Society:
Source abstraction and treatment” has
shown the light at the end of the tunnel. Langat basin in Selangor has great
potential for riverbank/bed filtration
for resource abstraction. The players
in drinking water industry should embark on this agenda as initial results on
turbidity and pathogenic organisms’
removal using laboratory model currently conducted in USM has also shown
promising results.
WaterMalaysia
9
MWA Activities
25th Annual General Meeting
M
WA 25th AGM was attended by
approximately 100 members at
The Club, Bukit Utama, Petaling Jaya
on 27 April 2013. The announcement
of new MWA Office Bearers took
place after the conclusion of the
AGM. Following is the list of Council
Members for 2013/2015 Session:
President:
• Ir. Syed Mohamed Adnan Mansor
Alhabshi
Deputy President:
• Ir. V Subramaniam
Outgoing President chairing the AGM
Vice Presidents:
• Mr. Sutekno bin Ahmad Belon
• Prof. Ir. Hj. Mohamed Haniffa bin
Abdul Hamid
Immediate Past President:
• Mr. Ahmad Zahdi bin Jamil
Hon. Secretary General
• Ir. Hj. Mohmad Asari bin Daud
Hon. Treasurer General
• Dato’ Ir. Hj. Zainal bin Bachik
Ordinary Council Members:
• Mdm. Amy Yew
• Ir. Zulkiflee bin Ab Hamid
• Ir. Beh Hong Lin
• Ir. Tham Yee Kiong
• Ir. Ong Guan Hock
• Ir. Lim Soon Guan
• Mr. Mansor bin Abdul Ghani
• Mr. Sofian bin Salleh
• Mr. Shaharis bin Saad
• Mr. Mohamad Hairi bin Basri
• Mr. Shamsul Fahmi bin Mohd
Padzli
Two newly appointed Council
Members are En. Mohamad Hairi
bin Basri and En. Shamsul Fahmi bin
Mohamad Padzli.
Handing over of office from previous session (2011/2013)
to new session (2013/2015)
Participants at AGM
AGM in progress
10
WaterMalaysia
MWA former Presidents, Dato’ Ir. Hj. Wan Ngah (left) and
Dato’ Ir. Syed Muhammad Shahabudin sharing a light
moment after the AGM
MWA Activities
Annual Meeting of All-Malaysia District Water Engineers Action
Committee
T
he Annual Meeting of All-Malaysia District Water Engineers Action Committee was convened to
enable Malaysian District Water Engineers to exchange ideas and provide feedback with the objective
of enhancing and creating a structured and effective water supply
management system. The theme
for Year 2012 was "ICT Application:
Role of Sustaining Malaysia’s Water
Supply Management”. The meet-
ing commenced on December 1113, 2012 at Johor Bharu with SAJ
Holdings acting as host. MWA was
invited to take part in the exhibition
in conjunction with the meeting.
All-Malaysia District Water Engineers Action Committee
Annual Meeting in JB
MyWA invited Mr Brian John Allum, UK Water Specialist to share his views on national water supply training
skills.
MWA Visit to Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Project Site
O
n 30 January 2013, about 20
members participated in a visit
to the raw water transfer project
site in Hulu Langat. Members were
brought to the site after a short briefing at the Project Office. The visit
concluded with a lunch hosted by
the team and a Q&A session. MWA
will arrange for a subscequent visit to
Karak at a future date.
Project Overview
The Pahang-Selangor Raw Water
Transfer Project is intended to convey
1,890 million litres per day of raw water from Karak, Pahang to Hulu Lan-
gat, Selangor through twin pipelines
and a water transfer tunnel. The water will be treated at the proposed
Langat II Water Treatment Plant for
distribution within Klang Valley and
its vicinity. The scheme is designed
to meet projected water demand
until year 2025.
MWA members posing at Water Transfer Tunnel
MWA members witnessing the progress of tunnel
construction
MWA members at the Project Team Office in Hulu
Langat
WaterMalaysia
11
MWA Activities
Water Malaysia 2013 Gathers Professionals
T
he curtain dropped on yet another
successful staging of Water Malaysia
2013 Conference and Exhibition (WM
2013) on April 25, 2013. Held over a period of three days at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and co-organised by
Malaysian Water Association (WMA) and
PROTEMP Exhibitions Sendirian Berhad,
Water Malaysia 2013 brought a perennially important and pressing issue back to
the table: the sustainability and efficiency
of our water and wastewater management, focusing on the right price for quality of service.
The seventh WM2013 featured exhibitors from around the world showcasing the latest cutting edge technologies
in the water services industry. Running in
conjunction with WM2013 were Irrigation
& Drainage 2013, Water Loss Asia 2013
and Water Resources Management
2013.
The keynote lectures at the confer-
12
ence dealt with water tariffs, sewerage
charges and consumer expectations. The
speakers included Dato’ Teo Yen Hua of
SPAN (National Water Services Commission), the regulatory agency of Malaysia
and Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohammad Din,
CEO of Indah Water Konsortium.
A panel discussion themed ‘the price
of quality water services’ was chaired
by Mr Ahmad Zahdi Jamil, outgoing
President of Malaysia Water Association.
Some of the other themes at the conference were ‘operating efficiency’, ‘consumer and tariff’, ‘delivering quality services’, ‘water loss reduction’, ‘treatment
and asset management’ and ‘water
resources management’
After the keynote lectures, the opening ceremony was launched, in the afternoon on the first day of WM2013 event,
by the Secretary-General of the Energy,
Green Technology and Water Ministry of
Malaysia (KeTTHA), Datuk Loo Took Gee.
In her speech as Guest of Honour, she appreciated the contribution of the outgoing president Mr Ahmad. She highlighted
the disparity between the assets of the
water sector which stood at about RM3
billion (US$993 million) compared to the
RM32 billion of the power sector in Malaysia.
There were side programmes arranged during the Opening Ceremony
i.e. presentation of Certificates on “Skim
Produk Cekap Air” (Water Efficiency
Product Scheme) by SPAN and Competency Certificates by Malaysian Water
Academy (MyWA). A video on “Launching of Water Asset Management System”
by PAAB was also presented.
A Press Conference was conducted
and the ceremony was concluded with
a tour to the exhibition hall by the Guest
of Honour and other VIPs.
In the press conference, Dato' Teo
said SPAN is in the process of implement-
Dato’ Seri DiRaja Tajol Rosli Ghazali of PAAB – Chief
Custodian of National Water Assets (seated left)
Networking opportunity during the tea break
Datuk Loo officiating the opening ceremony as Guestof-Honour
Panel Discussion on “The Right Price for Quality Service”
WaterMalaysia
MWA Activities
Datuk Loo visiting one of the exhibition booths
Serious participants at the Water Malaysia International
Conference 2013
ing a new water tariff setting mechanism
in order that the price of treated water
in Malaysia would reflect the right price
for quality services. According to him, it
could take six months to a year more to
put the new tariff setting mechanism in
place.
Saying that the different approaches
in tariff setting and structure mechanism
in the past was not standard, Dato Teo
added that water operators should increase efficiency and deliver good water services. He elaborated that good
services include uninterrupted flow at
good pressure and good quality water
which could be consumed directly from
the pipe.
“According to the World Health Organisation, water usage was about 160 litres a day per person and a certain block
of water is required by everyone so SPAN
would need to ensure that everyone especially the poor could still afford the new
Regulators and MWA at the press conference
Participants having two-way dialogue with the
conference speakers
pricing,’ explained Dato’ Teo.
At a press briefing Mr Ahmad said the
water tariffs set by the government in future will not be a burden to the people as
the rate imposed on the people will be 3
to 5% of average household disposable
income.
The biennial exhibition, which attracted some 150 booths, featured equipment
for pressure management, storm-water
management, leakage detection, meter-testing, geospatial data recording ,
wastewater operations and many other
applications.
Free water technological seminars
were conducted onsite throughout the
3-day WM2013 event. Leading experts
from the exhibitor booths came forward
on stage to demonstrate how their latest technological products and services
could benefit the local water industry. The
latest technological advances shared
were in respect of intelligent control on
pressure management, low-impact inpipe inspection technologies for leak
detection and condition assessment, the
necessary detection of leakage in trunk
mains, and repairing mains under pressure to reduce impact on consumers.
A workshop on Non-Revenue Water
(NRW) was held on the last day which
mainly focussed on physical losses. Topics such as active leakage control, leak
repairs, pressure management and asset
management were taken up in detail by
NRW experts.
Over the years, Water Malaysia has
become an important platform for professionals in the Malaysian water services
sector to share technologies and experiences.
MWA thanked all supporters namely
KeTTHA, Jabatan Bekalan Air, SPAN and
Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad,sponsors and
participants for this successfully concluded WM 2013 event.
WaterMalaysia
13
MWA Activities
Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between Malaysian Water Academy and Ministry of Energy,
Green Technology and Water at the 1st Malaysia National Sewerage Conference
18 June 2013, The Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.
Scene at the 1st Malaysia National Sewerage Conference, 17-18 June 2013
The Conference was managed by Malaysian Water Academy Sdn Bhd
14
WaterMalaysia
Educational & Training
Water Treatment Plant Competency
Course (WTPCC)
conducted by MyWA
Hands-on practice session on lab equipment for water operators taking part in the Water Treatment Plant Operator
Competency Course (Level 2)
WaterMalaysia
15
Educational & Training
Training for Certified Environmental
Professional in Sewage Treatment
Plant Operation (CePSTPO)
conducted by MyWA
Participants of CePSTPO at site undertaking their practical training
Participants paying full attention to a lecturer during the
theory lessons
More on site training and lectures
16
WaterMalaysia
Educational & Training
Group photo after the Certificate presentation for ‘Water Treatment Plant Competency Course
(Level 2)’ during the opening of Water Malaysia 2013
23 April 2013, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
Participants receiving their certificates from YBhg. Dato’ Teo Yen Hua for Treatment Plant Competency
Course (Level 2) during the the opening of Water Malaysia 2013
on 23 April 2013, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
WaterMalaysia
17
Educational & Training
Datuk Loo presenting a certificate to a course participant while
Dato’ Teo and Encik Ahmad Zahdi were witnessing the ceremony
18
WaterMalaysia
Country Focus
Kuala Lumpur’s experience
with water reforms
by Singaravelloo Kuppusamy and Siew Hooi Tan
Courtesy of NS Shah
The capital of Malaysia continues to negotiate restructuring its water sector. Here is an
overview of the city’s experiments with managing water supply and distribution.
W
ater supply in Kuala Lumpur is closely linked to Selangor state through one water utility company. This
is because the city of Kuala Lumpur has close historical
connections with Selangor, being its capital from 1880 to
1978. In 1974, Kuala Lumpur became a federal territory
under the federal government.
Kuala Lumpur is not large at 242 km2 but more than half
is built up. High population growth means increasing future
demand for water. Kuala Lumpur is entirely dependent on
Selangor for its water supply.
Institutional Setting and Governance
Under the Federal Constitution, state governments are
responsible for water supplies. In the 1990s, structural
changes in the water services industry occurred across the
country with the corporatisation of water supply agencies
in some states, full privatisation in others, and adoption
of a dual system of public control of distribution and privatisation of water treatment services in some. Selangor
opted for full privatisation.
State governments were trying to upgrade and expand
their water networks, turning to the Federal Government
for grants or loans. Many were unable to repay the loans.
A water crisis in 1998 and a National Water Resources Study
in 2000 prompted the federal government to intervene
directly in the state water industry. The study had recommended reforms and identified various issues such as
water shortages. At that time, water supply services were
managed by the respective state governments.
The reforms were two-fold. First, the Federal Consti-
tution was amended to place water services into the
Concurrent List. Second, water-related agencies were
consolidated and placed under federal jurisdiction.
Water sources, water catchment areas and river basins
remained under the control of state governments, which
would receive royalties from the water utility companies
and federal assistance.
The management of water supply in Kuala Lumpur
is in accordance with the Water Supply Act 1998, which
provides for the supply and distribution of water in Kuala
Lumpur. However, it merely supports all laws affecting
water supply and distribution in Selangor. Two major
legislations in 2006 govern the water services industry in
Selangor. They are the National Water Services Commission Act 2006 (SPAN Act 2006) and the Water Services
Industry Act (WSIA) 2006. The latter regulates water supply
and sewerage services in Peninsular Malaysia and the
Federal Territory of Labuan.
Under the SPAN Act 2006, the National Water Services
Commission or Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara
(SPAN) was established in 2007 as a water regulatory
body for Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory
of Labuan to address issues such as poor water quality,
supply, NRW, leaks, pilferage, arrears in unpaid bills as
well as interstate disparity in tariffs, enforcement, and
performance of water utilities.
SPAN is empowered to issue licences to operators and
contractors, and to regulate them. Each licence is subject
to renewal every three years. Each operator is required to
submit a three-year rolling plan and a 30-year business
WaterMalaysia
19
Country Focus
plan to SPAN that show the operator’s road map toward
full cost recovery, water demand and supply forecasts,
capital development and its expenditure, expected tariffs, actions on NRW, water conservation plan, and a plan
on how it intends to integrate water supply services with
sewerage services.
Further, the WSIA 2006 requires that all other players in
the industry—such as plumbers, engineers, contractors,
and material suppliers—are registered with SPAN, which
serves as a one-stop agency with the right to penalise
offenders. For revisions of water tariffs, SPAN is entrusted
with the task of drawing up appropriate water tariffs for
the approval of the Minister of Energy, Green Technology
and Water after consultations with consumers via a water
forum, which is an NGO to represent consumers’ interest.
With the introduction of SPAN, Lembaga Urus Air Selangor
(LUAS) or Selangor Water Management Authority remains
as a state water regulatory body, while SPAN performs the
regulatory role at the national level.
The WSIA 2006 governs the water services industry
from treatment of raw water to discharge of wastewater.
It transfers the supervision of all water services to the federal government. The underlying reasons are the federal
government has the resources to finance the high cost of
infrastructure and water services would be standardised
throughout Peninsular Malaysia.Pengurusan Aset Air
Berhad (PAAB) or Water Asset Management Company
was established in 2006 as a wholly-owned federal company to take over all water assets of state governments,
refurbish and upgrade existing water infrastructure, and
construct new infrastructure. Water operators can lease
the water assets for a stipulated period of time. PAAB is not
a profit-oriented organisation and lease rentals charged
are based on the operators’ ability to pay.
The WSIA 2006 and SPAN Act 2006 allow for the existing
private sector players in Selangor (and Kuala Lumpur) to
continue to operate. Private water treatment and distribution companies in Selangor are to carry on except under
a different mandate and are now accountable to the federal government.
The migration process under the WSIA
2006 for Selangor (and Kuala Lumpur) is
not finalised. The State Government of
Selangor is negotiating to purchase the
water assets from the concessionaires
in the state.
Water Resources
The supply of water to consumers in
Kuala Lumpur began in 1896 under
the Public Works Department. It was
subsequently decentralized to the
Selangor Water Supply Department
or Jabatan Bekalan Air Selangor (JBAS)
in 1972.
Selangor has seven major rivers and/
or river basin systems and six impounded
reservoirs, which supply water to Syarikat
Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn. Bhd.’s (SYABAS)
entire service area of Selangor, Kuala
Lumpur, and Putrajaya. A water scheme
was developed in three stages at Sungai
Selangor to meet long-term demand
although water shortages could
continue to occur.
20
WaterMalaysia
Total water treatment capacity per day in the service
area rose from 3.43 million m3 (mcm) in 2000 to 4.48 mcm
in 2005. Total water production per day was 86.8% of the
treatment plant capacity in 2008. Per capita production was in the range of 0.58– 0.59 m 3 per day during
2005–2008.
SYABAS buys treated water from the three water treatment operators in Selangor.
Of this, it receives 672,000 m3 of treated water a day
from the treatment plants to supply to Kuala Lumpur and
part of Petaling, Klang, and Gombak. Production from
the water treatment plants is metered.
Water quality and water service reliability
Water quality in Malaysia is set to meet the national standards which adhere to WHO guidelines. The Ministry of
Health carries out surveillance on water quality at treatment plants and distribution systems. Private treatment
plants are subject to stringent controls over quality monitoring, air scouring of reticulation mains, and cleaning of
reservoirs. They undertake sampling at points along the
pipes and at meter points as a precautionary measure.
On the distribution side, SYABAS carries out monitoring
and continuous improvement works on the distribution
system.
The entire Kuala Lumpur has continuous access to
piped water. Tankers are only used when there is an
unscheduled major disruption to water supply. The total
length of the water supply network in Kuala Lumpur has
risen since 2005, reaching 2,326 km in 2008. This represented 9.9% of the total network under SYABAS management.
Water pipes in Kuala Lumpur are old; some are at least
35 years old. This explains the large number of recorded
water pipe breaks. The aging pipes also caused leaks
that, in 2008, numbered 497 per 100 km of potable water
pipeline.
Water metering is mandatory for all consumer connections. All residential, commercial, and industrial premises
in Kuala Lumpur are served by direct individual tap connections or bulk connections in high-rise buildings. For
bulk connections, the building management charges fees
based on bulk meter readings and the floor space occupied by each unit. The number of connections in Kuala
Lumpur rose from 170,344 in 2005 to 175,751 in 2008.
Non-revenue Water
Of the 175,751 connections in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, 95.3%
had operating meters. The remaining meters had defects
and there was 80% performance in terms of responsiveness
to defaults by SYABAS.
NRW affects the revenue of a water utility and the recovery of capital and operating costs. Under JBAS, NRW
was 36% in 1998 and 37% in 1999. After privatisation in 2005,
SYABAS was able to reduce NRW to 34% by 2008. It has set
a target of 15% by 2015.
NRW in Kuala Lumpur is caused by several factors,
which include consumption via legal connections of public facilities that could not be billed; physical loss of water
caused by leaks, bursts, damages to pipes and faulty
fittings; and illegal uses such as non-endorsed diversions
and pilferages.
Demand Management
For Kuala Lumpur and part of Petaling, Klang, and Gombak, domestic water consumption was estimated at 60.6%
Country Focus
of total water consumption in 2008. Per capita domestic
consumption was 148 litres per day compared to the
national average of 185 litres per day. The total average
per capita consumption was 244 liters per day compared
to 420 liters per capita per day supplied by water treatment plants.
Water Pricing
Water tariffs for domestic households are nonlinear and
structured to penalise those who use more water. Differential rates apply to residential, commercial, and industrial
users. The differential tariff is highest for commercial and
industrial users. Social considerations are built into the
tariff structure. Welfare and religious institutions, as well
as low-cost housing, pay lower rates.
Tariff rates remained unchanged in Kuala Lumpur from
1989 to 2001. Revisions took place in 2001 and 2006. Both
revisions were attributed to privatisation exercises. The
2001 revision was linked to the corporatisation of JBAS.
The 2006 revision was in accordance with the concession
agreement of SYABAS, which allowed for revision every
three years.
Consumers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor also pay
connection fees, made up of a refundable deposit and
a fixed installation charge. Domestic users are required to
pay a minimum deposit of RM100 (US$32); non-domestic
users pay a minimum deposit of RM500. The rates of the
installation charge vary with the meter size.
Public Education and Water Conservation
There is no national policy on water conservation. The
tariff structure with differential rates is intended to penalise
heavy water users. This represents an indirect approach
to promote water conservation. It has been agreed that
subsidiary legislations at state level should be enacted to
mandate installation of dual flush systems in all buildings
and new housing from June 2002 but this has not been
done.
However, SPAN is formulating a new set of uniform
water supply rules to replace the existing State Water
Supply Rules. Among other things, it provides for water
conservation measures and regulation of plumbing to
accommodate rainwater harvesting. From 1 January 2012,
it has mandated that all new housing units are required
to install dual flush WC cisterns.
Wastewater Management
Traditionally, local authorities were responsible for sewerage services but most were under-performing. The federal
government concerned over inefficiencies and pollution,
took over sewerage services in Peninsular Malaysia and
turned them over to Indah Water Konsortium (IWK). The
1994 privatisation exercise entailed payment of sewerage
fees based on the total volume of water usage, and billing
was to be made directly through the water utility companies. Water meters were to be disconnected if sewerage
payments were not settled.
In the absence of any statutory regulation, there were
high incidences of non-payment. This affected IWK’s revenue flows, and eventually the mode of incorporating
the sewerage charges into the water bill had to be abandoned. In addition, the federal government reduced the
sewerage charges three times during this period, causing
IWK to lose revenue. In 2000, IWK had to be taken over by
the Minister of Finance Incorporated.
With a renewed mandate and access to federal funds,
the restructured IWK started a programme to educate the
public and take proactive actions to upgrade sewerage
services. IWK issues half-year bills to users but continues
to face problems with defaults. It has to rely on civil suits
to recover outstanding debts, a process which is lengthy.
With the implementation of the WSIA 2006, IWK began
to operate with statutory power to take actions against
defaulters.
In Kuala Lumpur, IWK has eight regional plants, 227 multipoint plants, and also maintains 57,232 individual septic
tanks. In addition, there are 95 private plants and 5,000
pour flushes that do not come under IWK’s jurisdiction. In
such cases, IWK provides service to these locations on
a need basis. Some hotels and hospitals have their own
sewage treatment plants.
The proportion of commercial and residential premises
in Kuala Lumpur with access to IWK-operated sanitation
system rose from 73.5% in 1998 to 90.1% in 2008. Wastewater treatment capacity increased at an average annual
rate of 6.5%. However, it was still lower than the expansion in the volume of wastewater discharged in the city.
By 2004, IWK’s capacity could not match rising demand.
While it expanded capacity, the volume of wastewater
discharged continued to rise. By 2008, although all its
plants were operating at full capacity, IWK could only treat
91% of the volume of wastewater discharged.
A major constraint is finance; funds to upgrade and
improve services are limited. IWK has to oversee non-operating, under-loaded and overloaded plants. In addition,
illegal discharges into the sewers by industries overload
its plants, pushing up maintenance costs, and causing
blockages and disruptions in the system. It does not have
full control over the entire sewerage system. Hence, when
private plants violate the Environmental Quality Act 1974
and pollute the rivers, IWK is frequently blamed, a problem
that would hopefully be resolved with SPAN taking over
the regulation of water and sewerage services.
Privatisation of sewerage services does have positive
impacts on sewerage services in Kuala Lumpur. Although
the number of disruptions increased from 4,347in 1998 to
5,477 in 2008, the number of disruptions per 1,000 km of
sewer line declined by 50%. This is because the length of
sewers increased more rapidly.
Storm water Management
Flash floods are a problem in Kuala Lumpur but not major
floods. The last recorded major flood was in 1971. Although
heavy rainfall contributes to floods in the city, other factors include intensive development, blockages in urban
drains by pollutants, and sedimentation of rivers. The infrastructure development of main rivers in Kuala Lumpur
is managed largely by the Federal Territory Department
of Irrigation and Drainage with support from the DrainStormwater Management and Road Tunnel
(SMART),KL
Courtesy of Gamuda Berhad
WaterMalaysia
21
Country Focus
age and River Management Department of Dewan
Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL).It is DBKL’s responsibility
to manage urban drainage in the city including small
rivers and storm drains that link to the main rivers in the
city. It set up rubbish traps at 15 locations in the small rivers under its care. It also carried out desilting, upgrading,
and maintenance works spanning about 350km of minor
rivers and storm water drains. Despite these, flash floods
continued to occur during downpours.
Faced with the need to address frequent flooding, the
federal government went into a partnership with a private
firm to construct the Storm water Management and Road
Tunnel (SMART) as a demonstration project to curb flash
floods in Kuala Lumpur. SMART is an RM 1.93 billion project
to re-direct excess floodwater from Sungai Klang and
Sungai Ampang into holding ponds. It was developed on
a cost-sharing basis.
At other times, SMART serves as a motorway for light
motor vehicles. But during heavy storms, the tunnel is
closed to road traffic and it channels excess floodwater
into retention ponds. Since commencement of operations
in 2007, SMART has managed to avert at least 114 flood
events. The tunnel was designed to prevent flash floods
from the overflow of the two rivers and does not prevent
flooding throughout the entire city. But it is a good example of how effective PPP can tackle the city’s problems.
Private Sector Participation
In Malaysia, the State Government of Selangor was among
the pioneers when it corporatised JBAS into PUAS in 2002.
It also privatised its reservoirs and treatment plants under
30-year concession agreements to three firms, namely
Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn. Bhd., Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai
Selangor Sdn. Bhd. (SPLASH),and Konsortium ABASS Sdn.
Bhd. On 15 December 2004, the state government signed
an agreement with SYABAS and the federal government
to transfer the responsibilities of PUAS to SYABAS, a private
form in which the state government holds equity together
with Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd. SYABAS was also given
a 30-year concession to distribute water to more than 7.3
million domestic, industrial, and commercial consumers,
making it the largest privatised water supply scheme in
the country.
In Kuala Lumpur, the provision of water, water treatment, and sewerage and storm water services was
gradually privatised under federal jurisdiction through
the WSIA2006. The privatisation model evolved from full
privatisation where the private sector is fully responsible for
all costs of infrastructure to one that favours PPP. This shift
towards a PPP model reflects a change in the federal government’s policy to focus on making privatised services
more efficient and cost-effective and to address public
complaints on rising prices and poor services.
Earlier examples in the privatisation of IWK and the
corporatisation of JBAS into PUAS have revealed weaknesses in the full privatisation model. Furthermore, previous
privatisation efforts in Kuala Lumpur were perceived by
the public to have undertones of political involvement
and questionable motives.
Customer Satisfaction
SYABAS have put in place a dedicated 24-hour call
centre, PUSPEL, to receive public complaints. For water
distribution service, the number of complaints fluctuated
during 1998–2008. Under JBAS and subsequently PUAS,
the number of complaints was stable at about 100,000
a year. However, immediately after the privatisation of
PUAS’ responsibilities, the number of complaints increased.
Possible reasons for this could be a general discontent
among the public over the privatisation exercise, higher
expectations, under-reporting by the previous management, and an improved system of collecting and collating
public complaints that included newspapers and other
media, which were not done previously. SYABAS took steps
to reduce the complaints to 100,000 a year but in absolute
terms, this remained high.
In Kuala Lumpur, SYABAS received 40.4% of its total
number of complaints in 2008. Almost three-quarters were
on disruptions of water services, water tankers, leakages,
broken pipes, and low pressure. The remaining complaints
comprised dissatisfaction over meter disconnections, billings, meter-related issues, and others. Records for 2008
Courtesy of Gamuda Berhad
One of the Water Treatment Plants supplying water to the Klang Valley
22
WaterMalaysia
Country Focus
showed that 99.9% of such complaints were resolved.
Financial Resource Management
During 1998–2008, revenue growth of the water supply service provider was strong, reaching an average
annual rate of 14%. In absolute terms, annual revenue
increased from RM399 million in 1998 to RM1.5 billion in
2008 because of expansion of new accounts. Operating
revenue rose significantly in 2002 after corporatisation,
reaching more than double the amount in 1998. Another
marked increase was in 2005 after privatisation when
SYABAS’s annual collections rose above RM1 billion. Annual billings also increased although after 2006, these
declined largely because of a reduction in repeat billings
to recoup arrears.
Revenue collection efficiency estimated from 2003 to
2008 showed an improvement from 78 to 91%. There were
fluctuations in the efficiency rate but the decline was
likely due to changes in management during the period
reviewed.When Syabas took over in 2005, the efficiency
dropped but after the transition period, it reverted to
reach a high of 91% in 2008.
Annual debts arising from nonpayment of billed water
consumption declined as revenue collection efficiency
increased. On a monthly basis, improvements were
observed after privatisation, with accounts receivable
in month’s equivalent declining from about 3.5 months
during the transition period to less than two months in
2008. This was because SYABAS enforced the law to disconnect water supply on errant accounts and to charge
reconnection fees.
The increase in revenue was accompanied by rising
annual O&M costs. While operating revenue increased to
more than 3.5 times the base year’s level by 2008, annual
O&M costs increased more moderately. The gap resulted
in a better operating ratio of 0.86 in 2008.
Grants were used to help the state water utilities. JBAS
received development grants from the State Government
of Selangor; it also borrowed from the federal government
to finance capital expenditure. In 2001, JBAS took a grant
of RM432.3 million to construct the Sungai Selangor Dam.
When water services were corporatised in 2002, the state
government stopped the grants. However, when SYABAS
took over, it managed to negotiate for a one-off grant
amounting to almost RM250 million to help resolve the
NRW issue.
Human Resource Management
The total staff strength of the water services industry
(excluding water treatment and sewerage services) increased significantly from 1,317 in 1998 to 2,268 in 2005
when the service was privatised. SYABAS’s staff strength
was 3,021 in 2008.
The number of employees in the water distribution
services almost trebled when total connections in the
service area increased. The ratio of staff to connections
rose from 1.5 per 1,000 connections in 2005 to 1.9 in 2008
when SYABAS absorbed 95% of PUAS employees. This implies that more employees were hired after the SYABAS
takeover.
The average annual salary of employees was estimated to be in the range of RM30,000–RM41,000 during
2003–2008 . The large number of workers means that the
ratio of non-management and/or field staff to professional
staff is very high, which means that the implied monthly
salary of RM3,000 would be relatively high when compared with that in the public sector.
In the case of highly skilled professionals, the gap in
remunerations tended to favour the private sector. The
annual remunerations of the four top management staff
(executive directors) in SYABAS averaged RM115,500 per
person in 2007. In 2008, the average remuneration was
RM186,100 per person. Compared to other large private
firms, this might not be very competitive, but against the
public sector, it was.
Lessons
PPP as a preferred model: The Kuala Lumpur experience
shows that privatisation has positive impacts on the delivery of water services. When SYABAS took over, it faced
problems over high NRW and poor water quality. The
company installed a 24-hour helpline, embarked on a
pipe replacement programme, and reduced NRW from
38% to 34% within four years.
Initially, there was complete reliance on the private
sector for finances. But there were obstacles mainly in raising funds from the private money market. The borrowing
terms could be relatively stringent and the private utilities
were unable to guarantee payments of debts.
To overcome this, private utility firms focused on improving revenue collection and reducing operating costs.
This approach, however, was not sustainable nor were
they able to raise sufficient amounts for heavy capital
investment. In the case of IWK, the situation was even
more precarious as it was operating in the absence of a
legal framework to allow it to change the tariff structure
or take actions against defaulters.
While private sector participation is a way forward, it
is important to consider that the industry involves major
capital infrastructure investment, the costs of which are
high and often are beyond the private firms’ financial
capacity. It may be better to look into a PPP model as an
alternative. The PPP model brings the government into a
partnership with the private sector not only to undertake
and complete major infrastructure projects but also to
promote efficiency and accountability.
Establishing an appropriate legislative and institutional
framework: In Kuala Lumpur, the privatisation of water
services had proceeded with negligible federal regulation. There was no federal oversight of the concessionaires
in terms of their performance, revenue generated, cost
ratios, tariffs, and investment.
The WSIA 2006 is thus an important legislation for the
water services industry in peninsular Malaysia. For the first
time, an encompassing legal framework is available to
regulate the industry.
Previously, each state had its own water arrangements.
The result was different water arrangements and tariff
structures. For states that had corporatised or privatised
water supply services, tariff increases were built into agreements that allowed for periodic revisions of water tariffs
without corresponding checks on the utility’s improvements and cost savings. With the WSIA 2006 and SPAN
Act 2006 coming into play, it is hoped that the disparity
in water tariffs among states would narrow and become
more uniform over time.
The exercise of drawing up the appropriate legislative
and institutional framework is referred to as the nationalisation of the water services industry in the country. In
a federal structure like Malaysia, it is a “delicate” matter
WaterMalaysia
23
Country Focus
because it involves the states’ position in the Constitution.
The centralisation of the water services industry in Malaysia
is necessary mainly because many state governments
and private concessionaires are unable to invest heavily
in the requisite infrastructure to address NRW—a major
water problem in almost all states.
Although reforms in the water services industry are in
place, there are still criticisms leveled at the reforms for
not doing enough to encourage water conservation,
especially in changing consumer behavior. There is a
general reluctance among state governments to raise
water tariffs. The reforms introduce water forums to open
up dialogues on water tariff issues between SPAN and
consumer groups.
Providing a workable funding mechanism using PPP:
The Kuala Lumpur experience shows that a privatisation
model that relies completely on the private sector to
finance infrastructure is not sustainable in the long term.
For example, the pipe replacement program of SYABAS
will cost at least RM2.6 billion. It borrowed in the open
bond market to raise funds. It is facing difficulty in meeting
debt repayment because it has used tariff reviews that
are scheduled in the concession agreement to support
payment. A 37% increase in the water tariff scheduled for
2009 did not proceed, resulting in SYABAS seeking legal
discourse.
In the case of IWK where its earlier privatisation exercise
failed, its new PPP model where both the government
and the private sector work jointly to finance the heavy
investment helped IWK address its funding problems and
improve its services.
Another example of PPP in Kuala Lumpur is the SMART
project. The cost-sharing arrangement with the private
sector financing only a third of the total cost worked to
make the flood control project a reality.
The restructuring of the water services industry by the
federal government shows a recent trend toward the PPP
model in the water sector and in other major infrastructure projects. Through this, the government has created
a special funding vehicle for infrastructure investment. In
the water services industry, it has set up PAAB to rationalise
all water assets in Peninsular Malaysia.
In a largely fragmented industry, PAAB will take over the
water assets of 11 states (excluding Sabah and Sarawak)
and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya,
and Labuan. PAAB will repay the owners of the assets,
take over, and then lease the water assets to private operators, which will be licensed by SPAN to carry out their
tasks. The lease terms will take into consideration the cost
of assets and funding, viability of the water business, future
profitability, incentive for operations and maintenance
of assets. PAAB will invest in new infrastructure, where
needed. Essentially, PAAB, although a government-owned
company will operate like any private firm.
This rationalisation of assets is a complex process,
made more complicated by the fact that some states
are under different political parties, and others like Johor
and Selangor have long-term concessions in the water
services industry that must be negotiated. By 2013, six
states—Johor, Melaka, Perak, Penang, Perlis and Negeri
Sembilan—had completed the migration to the new
model with the assets transferred to PAAB. Among the
other states, Selangor’s situation is the most fragmented
with four concession-based private operators, and a state
government with a different political philosophy from the
federal government.
Excerpt from the book “Good Practices in Urban Water Management: Decoding Good Practices for a Successful Future”
by Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Edited by AnandChiplunkar,
Kallidaikurichi Seetharam & Cheon Kheong Tan. The article was first published by Asian Development Bank in
July 2012 and subsequently by Asian Water in their March/April 2013 Issue under the heading “Kuala Lumpur’s
Experiments with Water”.
24
WaterMalaysia
Special Interviews
Our work is dirty, difficult
and dangerous, says
Malaysia sewerage chief
Datuk Ir Abdul Kadir Mohammad Din, CEO of Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), Malaysia’s national sewerage agency discusses
the challenges of treating wastewater, managing sludge, reducing energy footprints and communicating with people who
just flush and forget.
Q
: Could you give us your thoughts
about manag ing wastewater
systems at national versus local levels? It is nearly 20 years since IWK has
been centrally managing wastewater
services.
AKM : It is a fact that sewerage is a
low priority matter compared to other
utilities, thus it is best it remains at a
national level where the country’s best
interests are paramount. We have seen
that in areas where sewerage management is not under IWK the services
can be further relegated down the
priority list. In my opinion, sewerage
development can be holistically implemented only when it is managed at the
national level. This provides adequate
opportunities for the industry players
to be involved in various levels towards
the sustainability and contributing to
economic growth whilst taking care
of the environment and community
wellbeing.
We have received many accolades at the national level; the entire
landscape of sewerage development
and management has changed for
the better; more regional plants have
been developed that are able to treat
sewage effectively for enhanced environmental quality; sewage sludge is
handled and managed well; we have
embarked on standardising the design, development, O&M of sewerage
infrastructure throughout the country
for which standards, guidelines, and
specifications were introduced; we
have managed to develop a trained
workforce which has the skill to operate and maintain sewerage systems
in any part of the country. Additionally, we are able to roll out continuous
improvement plans such as R&D and
innovations at the national level.
We have also initiated capacity
building programmes in Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Indonesia,
India and Philippines. These were
conducted through USAID-supported
partnership twinning programme to
help improve their sewerage management. Our work has been recognised
by the international media. We have
been visited by Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, Water Sanitation Africa,
and officials from Bhutan, India and
Oman seeking to learn from us. We
OPERATOR
IWK
NON-IWK
TOTAL
Datuk Ir Abdul Kadir
Mohammad Din
have a vision to create a water hub
here in Malaysia to facilitate knowledge transfer and our tagline is “Learn
from the Best”.
IWK TOTAL OPERATIONAL AREA AND POPULATION SERVED
POPULATION EQUIVALENT (PE)
AREA
%
(Sq. Km)
SERVED BY IWK
NOT SERVED BY IWK
98,642
74.45
19,821,353
33,857
132,499
25.55
100.00
19,821,353
59%
13,496,269
41%
-
2,332,833
100%
56%
15,829,102
44%
* Data as of December 2012
* Exclusive of 2.96 million population utilizing primitive (pour
flush) systems.
• Operations only cover 87 of 146
local authorities in Malaysia.
• The entire states of Kelantan,
Sabah, Sarawak, Johor Bahru
& Pasir Gudang not taken over
although provided in Concession
Agreement.
• Regional development authority
areas such as KETENGAH & KEJORA
are excluded.
WaterMalaysia
25
Special Interviews
Q: Is it preferable or even possible to
cover the entire country with sewerage
services and to phase out septic tanks
completely?
AKM: IWK’s concession targets that
85% of the households in urban areas
(referred as Category A) is provided
with connected ser vices and the
remaining 15% provided with septic
tank whereas in rural areas (referred
as Category B), 30% of the households
are provided with connected services
and the balance 70% provided with
septic tank. To realise this target, we
have estimated that RM 52 billion
(US$16.7 billion) capex investment
would be required.
Hence under the National Sewerage Development Plan (NSDP), the
septic tank areas will continue to be
employed throughout the planning
per iod. The ISTs (individual septic
tanks) are recommended for continued use in low density development
areas where the introduction of a
piped centralised sewerage system
is not viable. The NSDP recommends
that the elimination of septic tanks be
considered a priority only if considerable numbers are located in sensitive
areas such as upstream of water intake
points. The property connection will be
carried out as part of the sewerage
project. This is also subject to the location of the ISTs (reasonable distance to
the nearest sewer network). It is anticipated that the number of ISTs within
urban areas will increase to a certain
extent over the plan period, especially
those areas exhibiting relatively low
population levels and low development densities compared to the main
urban centres. This programme will be
carried out in conjunction with the
regionalisation.
The percentage of connected
ser vices in Peninsular Malaysia at
present is about 70%. The proposed
NSDP coupled with effective control
of sewerage infrastructure planned
and constructed by developers will
increase the number of areas in where
regional or localised sewerage systems consisting of sewage treatment
plants (STPs) and sewer networks are
available. This will enable new developments to be connected directly to
these sewerage systems rather than
providing separate localised systems.
A programme of property connection is also proposed to extend lateral
sewers to existing areas where ISTs
are used, and lay house connection
pipes to intercept ISTs. This will further
increase connected ser vices, and
reduce ISTs. The NSDP will enable the
percentage of connected services to
be increased.
26
WaterMalaysia
Population Equivalent (PE) Catered by STP as of December 2012
Imhoff Tanks
532,267 PE
(3%)
Oxidation Ponds
1,652,960 PE
(8%)
Communal Septic Tanks
409,487 PE
(2%)
Mechanical Plants
17,636,126 PE
(87%)
Types of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) as of December 2012
Communal Septic Tanks
3,631 Nos.
(38%)
Imhoff Tanks
721 Nos.
(8%)
Mechanical Plants
4,741 Nos.
(50%)
Oxidation Ponds
418 Nos.
(4%)
• Approximately 1.2 million individual
septic tanks but only 35% are accepting
scheduled desludging services
• As of December 2012, the total
Population Equivalent (PE) Served by
IWK via connected PE (public plants
excluding communal septic tanks) is
19.8 million.
Q: Even though it is well-known that
conventional toilets only contaminate
clean water, why are ecosan toilet
models not being promoted in the
country?
AKM: These days, most Malaysian
households have complete internal
toilet facilities. The internal sanitary
system is built-in with the houses by the
developer following standard or approved plans. Changing the system to
Ecosan would involve refurbishment of
the internal sanitary plumbing system,
the costs of which house owners would
refuse to absorb or incur.
There is a remote likelihood of
clean water contamination from toilet
wastewater as it is discharged into
sewer pipes connected to a sewage
treatment plant or to on-site septic
tanks. As long as the septic tanks are
de-sludged periodically, the impact
of clean water contamination is not
significant. We are working closely with
the authorities to encourage premise
owners to de-sludge their septic tanks
periodically.
Nevertheless, where water is scarce
or its source is not in close proximity
especially in rural dwellings in some
parts of Peninsular Malaysia and East
Malaysia which some may not have
proper sanitation systems and prac-
tices, Ecosan could have a potential
application.
Q: Could you tell us about the financing
of sewerage projects?
AKM: The capex for major sewerage
development projects are normally
funded by the Government through
KeTTHA. Typical capital projects are
those involving regionalisation, centralised sludge treatment facility, property
connection and construction of new
treatment plants. Besides, there are
projects that are driven by developers
to cater to specific developments. As
far as possible, all new developments
are required to be connected to the
existing plant. But in cases where no
host plant is available or too far to be
connected, the developers are allowed to construct a new treatment
plant to cater for the new development
or to upgrade existing plants which
have space for expansion for receiving
additional flows.
Q: Why is it so difficult to get people to
pay for sewerage services?
AKM: The awareness of the need to pay
for sewerage services is definitely on the
rise and this reflects in our collection.
However, there are still those who have
not paid and will not pay. I believe this is
due to the fact that they think what we
do in IWK has nothing to do with them,
does not affect them thus they refuse
to pay. IWK plays a necessary role that
creates ease and comfort. Many do
realise this fact as they do not have
to face the nasty circumstances of a
badly managed sewerage services.
What they do not see, they do not want
to be responsible for. For these people,
their duty is done once they flush their
toilets. This is why we call what we do,
cleaning the unseen. What people do
not see they do not want to pay for.
Perhaps IWK is penalised for being efficient but I believe we have a duty to
carry out our responsibilities the best
that we can.
However to reiterate what I have
mentioned earlier, more people are
realising their obligation and my sincere
hope is that this will continue especially
with the younger generation who are
truly responsive and appreciate IWK’s
role.
Q: What is IWK doing to improve awareness about sewerage services? Is there
a communication strategy?
AKM: We definitely have a strategic
communication plan in place. Our
communication efforts do not only
cover awareness to encourage pay-
Special Interviews
ment but include positive awareness
on what we, IWK’s role in ensuring our
environment is liveable, towards public
health and also in socio-economic
platform.
There is this disconnect where the
public do not realise the link between
their toilets, our sewerage networks,
treatment plants and the potential
calamity if IWK does not work well. Can
you imagine what happens if wastewater is leaked into our water sources, public areas and into homes? It is not only
the unpleasant odour that we would
need to deal with but the potential outbreak of diseases. Obviously many still
do not realise this and we work towards
addressing this disconnect.
We are also approaching government agencies to work on jointly promoting awareness of what we do and
how this affects the environment and
public health. There are so many ‘Go
Green’ movements out there and most
don’t stop to think how badly untreated
sewage can affect the environment.
Yes we should recycle, reuse, reduce
our carbon footprints but have stopped
to think what will happen if wastewater
is released into our waterways, into
public streets? We are also trying to
educate our young by working with
educators in pre-school, primary and
also secondary schools. The youth of
this country has shown that they are
the initiators of change and we hope
to garner support from them. We have
published on our own a few junior
books on the subject of wastewater
and hope to continue the effort of
shaping the minds of the next leaders
of this nation.
First and foremost, Indah Water
Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) is the national
sewerage company owned by the Minister of Finance and we are responsible
for providing sewerage services to close
to 20 million users in Peninsular Malaysia
and Labuan with exception of Kelantan and Johor Bahru. Our work is dirty,
difficult and dangerous and it is our
communications strategy to also share
this information with the public. The
sheer magnitude of the infrastructure
we manage is staggering. The main
focus of the company has been the
operations and maintenance of 5,880
public sewage treatment plants, close
to 16,000 kilometres of sewer networks,
892 pumping stations, 58 centralised
sludge treatment facilities, including
septage management.
We hope that the public appreciates that IWK is populated with 18+
years of human capital assets in various
specialised fields as well as strategic assets in technical expertise, treatment facilities, operating vehicles, equipment
and instrumentation. Amongst areas of
specialisation are sewerage planning
and certification, process design, technical audit, environmental assessment,
Hazard & Operability (HAZOP) studies,
capacity development programs, development of sewerage standards and
guidelines as well as project management consultancy services.
Thus it is the thrust of our communication strategy to share a more
complete picture of IWK and with this
we hope to convince the public about
the role and importance of sewerage
services and management.
Q: What is IWK doing in wastewater
reuse? Is it still a challenge to change
perceptions of wastewater as a resource rather than a nuisance?
AKM: IWK has embarked on R&D for
reuse of treated sewage or what we
call ‘bioeffluent’. The studies had shown
that by using the appropriate technology, the bioeffluent could be further
polished for various applications such
as industrial and landscaping uses.
Today, we are using bioeffluent for
internal works such as process needs,
and housekeeping. Besides, we have
successfully used bioeffluent instead
of potable water for sewer cleaning
maintenance works. In moving forward
we are now promoting bioeffluent for
landscaping. We have been successful in demonstrating this with a local
authority in Port Dickson and now we
are ready to implement this with the
other local authorities and city councils
in Malaysia. We believe that using bioeffluent can reduce dependence on
potable water thus reducing the stress
on potable water supplies as well as
delay capex.
Yes, it is a challenge to change the
perceptions of stakeholders regarding
wastewater as a resource. There is a
huge knowledge gap especially those
amongst those not directly involved
in the industry and treated effluent is
still misconstrued as faeces water. We
need to re-brand wastewater and as
a start we refer to treated wastewater
as bioeffluent. Other aspects such as
conformance of the wastewater byproducts to religious requirements are
areas that need to be given due attention and handled sensitively. We also
plan to re-brand our regional sewage
treatment plants as Green Resources
Centres as we truly think that wastewater by-products can be positively
utilised.
Q: How is sludge being managed by
IWK? Is there a preference for land application?
AKM: Sludge generation is inevitable in
sewage treatment and we have to deal
with it despite facing numerous challenges. In early days, we did not have
adequate land to dispose the sludge
which is collected from septic tanks
and sewage treatment plants. Existing
sewage treatment facilities had to be
used to treat the sludge and dispose
it to landfill. Gradually, we developed
trenching sites and drying beds which
are able to receive the sludge. In some
areas, we have now replaced them
with mechanical dewatering units.
Besides, central sludge treatment
facilities were built and operated in
some parts of the country. The treated
sludge from all these facilities is known
as biosolids that exist in dried form
which are disposed to landfill. This in
fact contains valuable plant nutrients
and calories which could be turned
into a resource. For this, we continue
to embark on R&D programme to study
the recovery of resources from sludge
and promote its beneficial use. Similar
to bioeffluent, we have successfully
demonstrated beneficial use of biosolids for landscaping in the Port Dickson
Local Authority areas and now plan
to expand the initiative to other local
authorities in Malaysia.
Q: How successful are the efforts to generate energy from waste and sludge?
AKM: There is energy embedded in
sludge. The energy could be recovered
by several methods. This includes anaerobic digestion of sludge to generate
biogas/methane. We are working with
a local university with funding from the
Ministry of Energy, Green Technology
and Water to carry out a pilot project
on harnessing renewable energy from
anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge
at our Regional Sewage Treatment
Plant in Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur.
We hope the project will be successful
in generating electricity to partially
support the plant’s internal demand.
Besides, we think biosolids if treated
appropriately could be used as solid
fuel; this however is still at an early research stage and more work needs to
be done to realise the potential. Additionally, through collaboration with
local universities, we are exploring the
use of micro hydro system to harness
energy from hydraulic head losses of
flowing sewage.
Q: Could you tell us about your success in reducing the energy footprint of
wastewater treatment plants?
AKM: We realised that the cost of energy (which is largely used for aerating
and pumping wastewater)is one of
our largest components of the overall
WaterMalaysia
27
Special Interviews
overheads and efforts are needed to reduce it. In doing so,
we need to strike a balance between energy consumption
and meeting the overall service obligations and regulatory
compliance. This needs detailed analysis of process conditions, appropriate control, optimisation and monitoring of
the wastewater treatment process. Energy saving initiatives
will be implemented and for this year, we have set a target
to reduce energy consumption by 5% in all our regional sewage treatment plants. Besides, to streamline the initiative
effectively, we are embarking on a pilot project on energy
management in selected areas.
In IWK, there is also a Continuous Improvement Programme (CIP), whereby our employees explore innovative
ways to reduce our carbon footprint and other beneficial
methods in facilitating our operations.
We have labs where our resident experts study the potential use of enzymes, microbes, bio and nano-technology
in reducing our dependence on traditional power sources
and methods of delivering our output.
We also encourage our operators and technical staffs
to think out of the box by organising several competitions
which include photography and innovation. In addition to
this, we motivate our staff in many ways such as recognising
their effort through awards, rewards, incentives, and instilling
spiritual values though religious talks.
(This article was first published in the March/April 2013 issue
of Asian Water magazine)
Q: What steps are being taken to improve the capacity of
operators and technical staff?
AKM: We believe the operators and technical staff have a lot
to offer if they are nurtured and trained appropriately. For this,
we have developed our own suitable training programme
and these are being implemented throughout the company.
For effective training, we have established our own technical
training centre complete with mock training facilities in Bukit
Jalil Kuala Lumpur that rolls out many training programmes
for our staff and external parties such as contractors.
Existing aerated lagoons will be replaced by a mechanised
treatment system occupying a smaller footprint
Obsolete STP technology producing odour affecting adjacent residents
When completed Pantai 2 STP will have a capacity
of 1.423 million PE
Entrance to project site. The STP upon completion
will use Advanced A2O process with the provision
of bio-gas power generation facility
28
WaterMalaysia
Pantai 2 STP will have a 2-level underground process and
maintenance facility . The roof top will accommodate a
leisure park, administration building and community facilities
for local residents
Special Interviews
Phosphorus recovery must be factored into long-term plans: James
Barnard
There is a renewed interest in biological phosphorus removal
from wastewater which would allow the recovery of at least
40% of the phosphorus in the influent stream in a cost effective
way. We caught up with James Barnard from Black & Veatch
who has researched, written and presented extensively on
the subject.
Q
: Can you remind our readers about the importance of
phosphorus and the role it plays?
JB: Phosphorus is an essential nutrient responsible for life on
earth. Besides phosphorus’s role in bone development, it
plays a role in ATP (adenosine triphosphate) formation in
all cells which is the way in which energy is stored in living
matter.
Phosphorus can be found in most soils and all organic
matter but in small quantities. In forests, over centuries where
there was no harvesting, the forest products would fall to the
ground, decay and the phosphorus would be released for
the next growth. During the millions of years since elementary life, some phosphorus leached out through the steady
erosion of the earth crust into streams. This, in turn supported
the growth of algae and other water plants and eventually
higher forms of life, the residue of which accumulated on the
floors in water bodies.
Q: Are we running out of phosphorus?
JB: There is only a limited mass of minable phosphorus in the
world today. There are varying time scales on when we will run
out of minable phosphorus; I tend to cite that at the present
rate of consumption it may last less than a few centuries.
Q: On face value this seems like quite a long period of time,
but I know from speaking to you before that perhaps the
challenge should be looked at in a different way?
JB: Exactly. You have to understand the market for phosphorus. The price of phosphorus is going to increase.
There will not be an abrupt end to supplies. The rich and
easily recoverable ores are being mined rapidly and while
the phosphorus will not disappear in our lifetime or that of our
children and grandchildren, there is no doubt that the cost
of phosphorus fertiliser will increase sharply in future.
The way we farm has changed the phosphorus balance.
Agriculture was sustained in many parts of the world by either
flooding of areas by silt laden waters or by systematic return
of phosphorus from human and animal waste to the soil. With
the large increase in industrial farming, local phosphorus resources got depleted since food was exported long distances
and new mineral phosphorus needed to be imported.
Mineable phosphorus is not found everywhere and occurs only in special geological contexts. If sufficient layers of
plant and animal matter accumulated and calcified, rich
alluvial deposits of phosphorus rock were formed. Without
disturbance, such alluvial phosphorus rich deposits became
sources of mineral phosphorus. Such deposits can be found
in Florida, China and Morocco. Sometimes such layers were
James L Barnard is often referred to as the “Father of
Biological Nutrient Removal,” Dr Barnard has received
numerous industry awards and recognitions throughout his career. Notable awards include Singapore’s
prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize and the Koch/
Imhoff Award from the International Water Association.
A native of South Africa, Dr Barnard also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Johannesburg.
He is Global Practice & Technology Leader for Black &
Veatch’s global water business.
upturned and churned up in the crust of the earth to form
igneous deposits such as in Jordan and South Africa.
More than 85 per cent of estimated phosphorus reserves
are available in only one country, Morocco, however. While
the USA, for example, is still importing less than 10% of its
needs, 99% is from Morocco according to information on the
United States Geological Survey site.
Future demand for phosphorus will not decrease and
costs will increase.
Q: Given the potential market then, is there an opportunity for
wastewater utilities to recover phosphorus economically?
JB: Yes. New technologies are putting phosphorus recovery
from wastewater treatment plants in the range where costs
can be recovered within ten years or less if the price of phosphorus increases as expected.
WaterMalaysia
29
Special Interviews
phorus removed from the influent stream must exit through
the sludge in some form.
With chemical addition for phosphorus removal most of
the phosphorus will be in the insoluble form in the sludge and
will be disposed of with the sludge. While the sludge could be
used beneficially in land application, only a small fraction of
the phosphorus is productively used, while some is leached
out to the streams and a considerable fraction is tied up for
a long time. Normally sludge is applied to land as a way of
disposal and recent regulations limited the mass of phosphorus that can be deposited on a certain piece of land during
a certain period even when not available to plants.
When phosphorus removal is by biological uptake, up
to half of the phosphorus may be in the return streams after
anaerobic digestion and it can be reclaimed by the formation of struvite or some form of calcium phosphate while the
other half is tied up with the particulate fraction. Some of this
particulate fraction may yet be available to plants should
the solids be applied to land.
Most biological phosphorus removal plants in Western
Canada use composting as a means of sludge stabilisation
and applying the compost to land has the effect of recycling
most of the nutrients. The compost has the added benefit of
soil conditioning in which the organic matter serves to retain
the nutrients for beneficial use.
Q: Are you seeing more wastewater facilities anticipate this
market?
JB: I think most of the change is being driven by regulations.
Many utilities are facing stricter phosphorus discharge limits
and are retrofitting their wastewater treatment facilities to
include liquid stream phosphorus removal.
Q: How is phosphorus removed at wastewater treatment
facilities? What are the options?
JB: The main two ways to remove phosphorus are either by
chemical precipitation or by biological uptake. If we step
back, we could also look at ways to remove phosphorus at
source through urine recovery.
Q: Could we soon see phosphorus being removed from
urine?
JB: This is theoretically possible and would in fact be the most
effective means of recovering phosphorus. Urine contributes
55 to 65 percent of the phosphorus to domestic wastewater
in only 1 per cent of the flow.
The Stockholm Water Institute is promoting the use of urine
separating toilets that can be integrated in present drainage
systems but with separate lines for urine transport. In developing countries where fertiliser is unaffordable, a waterless
toilet is promoted which separates urine from feces, providing
much needed fertiliser for home grown products.
Research in Sweden and Switzerland is aiming to convert urine into struvite, which can be used as a slow release
fertiliser. Struvite is easily transportable and, once formed as
distinct crystals, is effectively separated from any pharmaceuticals present in urine when washed.
Q: What about more direct recovery of phosphorus from the
effluent?
JB: This really depends on whether phosphorus is recovered
through chemical or biological uptake.
Since there is no gaseous form of phosphorus, all phos-
30
WaterMalaysia
Q: Is biological removal of phosphorus becoming more
popular?
JB: Yes, I’m seeing biological phosphorus removal becoming
more popular for two main reasons.
The improved understanding of the process has made
it very reliable and predictable and in the second place it
makes cost effective recovery of struvite possible. In addition, magnesium is also taken up with the phosphorus and
released during anaerobic conditions.
Q: Struvite formation can actually be a problem in itself,
right?
JB: Yes, struvite can form in the digesters. In most instances of
enhanced biological phosphorus removal followed by sludge
digestion, struvite crustation causes problems in the pipelines
from the digesters and in dewatering equipment that can
result in costly maintenance. It has been overcome in certain
cases, as with the Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) [Berlin Water
Supply & Wastewater Disposal Company] when they switched
from chemical to biological phosphorus removal. They developed a patented procedure called AirPrexto precipitate
the struvite in the digesters while also improving the dewater
ability of the sludge. Another way to mitigate the problem is
to remove phosphorus before digestion.
Q: Why is that?
JB: Removing as much of the phosphorus from the waste
activated sludge (WAS) before digestion reduces surplus
phosphorus in the digesters sufficiently. Stripping the phosphorus and magnesium from the WAS before digestion also
maximises struvite formation in the phosphorus recovery
process.
The Pho-Strip process which preceded Biological Nutrient
Removal (BNR) configurations, stripped phosphorus from the
WAS. The Pho-Strip process was a high rate activated sludge
process that avoided nitrification. The return activated sludge
(RAS) was passed through a “stripping” tank in the form of a
thickener, in which the RAS was retained for up to 30 hours.
During this period fermention of the RAS produced VFA and
released phosphorus and magnesium to the liquid phase
Special Interviews
which was decanted and treated with lime for precipitation
of the phosphorus. The “stripped” RAS was then returned to
the aeration basin.
The process has been further developed recently to include nitrogen removal but the phosphorus is only “stripped”
from a portion of the return activated sludge.
The WASSTRIP process strips the phosphorus and magnesium from the waste activated sludge before digestion and
allows for the recovery of up to 50% of the phosphorus in the
influent when it is removed by biological means.
Q: What are some successful examples of struvite recovery?
JB: Initially the AirPrex process was used for preventing struvite
formation in the digester dewatering equipment, but it has
been further developed for struvite recovery. The AirPrex
reactor at Waßmannsdorf WWTP produces 2.5 tonnes per
day of struvite and the quality complies with the German
fertiliser ordinance. The struvite is used as raw material in
fertiliser production, where it is mixed with other fertilisers.
Many other examples exist.
The Phosnix Process, for example, was developed in Japan
by Unitika Limited Environmental and Engineering Division
and consists of a reactor that is an air agitated column with
chemical dosing equipment. The sludge liquor is pumped
to the bottom of the reactor and the chemicals, sodium
hydroxide and Mg(OH)2, are added for precipitation and
pH adjustment to pH 8.5 – 8.8. Struvite crystals grow, and sink
to the bottom of the column where they are removed periodically. Fine struvite particles separated from the product
struvite, are fed back to the reactor as seed material. Struvite
granules of 0.5 to 1.0 millimetres form in ten days retention
time. The product is dewatered for 24 hours in a filter bag system or naturally dried in an ambient temperature. The water
content of the final product is less than 10%. The produced
struvite is sold to a fertiliser company.
Q: Are there examples of struvite commercialisation in North
America also?
JB: We are seeing innovation emerge throughout the
world.
The Ostara process is a well known Canadian example.
It was developed at the University of British Columbia and
demonstrated at semi-full-scale at the Gold Bar plant in
Edmonton. The technology is based on controlled chemical
precipitation in a fluidised bed reactor that recovers struvite in
the form of highly pure crystalline pellets or “prills.” Nutrientrich feed streams are mixed with magnesium chloride and,
if necessary, sodium hydroxide and then fed into a reactor
where minute particles or struvite “seeds” begin to form.
Like a pearl, these seeds grow in diameter until they reach
the desired size – 1.0 millimetres to 3.5 millimetres – which
is precisely controlled by varying key parameters. In a municipal wastewater treatment plant, up to 90 percent of the
phosphorus and 40% of the ammonia load is removed from
the sludge dewatering liquid using this process and the resulting product is marketed as a commercial fertiliser called
Crystal Green ®.
The upflow reactor has a number of cylinders of increasing diameter with a larger settling basin on top. Liquid containing smaller particles of struvite is recycled to the bottom
of the unit at which point the centrate enters the reactor.
Magnesium chloride is added to have slightly more than
a stoichiometric equivalence with the phosphorus in the
feed and some caustic is added to raise the pH. As the prills
(pearls) grow they tend to migrate to the lower part of the
reactor where the upflow velocity is highest and from where
they can be harvested. The harvested prills are washed and
dried to the point where it contains no organic matter and
is pathogen free and is then bagged and distributed as a
slow release fertiliser.
The first full-scale plant was built at the Durham facility of
Clean Water Services (CWS) which removed 85% of the phosphorus in the return streams and 14% of the ammonia. The
Durham facility treats around 75,000 m3/d of raw wastewater
with an average influent phosphorus content of 4.8 mg/ℓ.
Initially about 20% of the influent phosphorus was reclaimed
(85% - 90% from the return stream) but this has been increased
due to the installation of WASSTRIPTM for removing Mg and
phosphorus from the WAS before digestion.
A second Ostara facility for CWS has recently been commissioned at the Rock Creek WWTP treating 135,000 m3/d.
The biological treatment plant was designed with chemical
phosphorus removal but has been converted to BPR to enable struvite production. This pioneering technology supposedly provides US$650,000 a year in operational savings and
revenue from the sale of the Crystal Green.
Q: That’s a huge cost saving. What drove research in this area
to find ways to commercialise phosphorus recovery?
JB: In many ways, the City of Milwaukee in the US led the way
to recovering, sterilising and marketing pelletised biosolids as
a nutrient. Milorganite is formed by dewatering and drying
bio-solids from the Milwaukee Jones Island plant. Iron salts
are added to the activated sludge process for removal of
phosphorus. During dewatering, the sludge is pelletised at
around 500°C which destroys the pathogens.
The initial marketing efforts centered on the ammonia
fertiliser value. Studies showed that 85% of the ammonia was
available to plants but that the water leachable phosphorus
was less than 2% of the phosphorus in the solids while the rate
for commercial fertiliser was 85%. The focus of these studies
was that the biosolids in effect would also bind soluble phosphorus and make it available to plants decreasing leaching
phosphorus to streams. Unlike the excessive application of
biosolids to land as a means of disposal, applying pelletised
waste activated sludge to land for the fertiliser value requires
much lower application rates.
Q: Are there other examples of processes that have become
successful?
JB: Another method of phosphate removal is the use of DHV
Crystalactor process, in which a fluidised bed crystalliser uses
sand as a seed while the phosphorus is precipitated using
materials such as lime, calcium chloride, magnesium hydroxide, and magnesium chloride, which crystallizes in different
WaterMalaysia
31
Special Interviews
compounds such as calcium and magnesium phosphates.
CrystalactorTM is a proprietary process in which acetic
acid is added to the return activated sludge of a BNR plant to
release phosphorus to the supernatant which is then passed
to the phosphorus recovery process. The RAS is then returned
to the activated sludge plant for enhanced excess phosphorus uptake by the phosphorus accumulating organisms. The
supernatant is mixed with overflow from the top of the tower,
chemicals are added for the precipitation of phosphorus and
the crystals are allowed to grow in the upflow regime which is
controlled. When lime is added to form hydroxyapatite, some
fine sand is also added to serve as a nucleus for the formation of fine crystals. The crystals are dried and bagged and
could be used directly as fertiliser or it can be sold to fertiliser
manufacturers. Alternatively, magnesium and alkalinity could
be added for struvite formation. Successful demonstrations
at some US plants showed that either the hydroxyapatite or
struvite outcome produced similar results.
Multiform Harvest Incorporated further developed a
cone-shaped struvite precipitation reactor, initially designed
for use in pig manure treatment by North Carolina State
University to be tested on agricultural and municipal wastewaters, in cooperation with Washington State University.
I understand that the reactor is further being developed
for phosphorus recovery in the municipal, agricultural, and
food processing wastewater sectors. Multiform is in the process of constructing a struvite recovery plant for the 115,000
m 3/d(30 MGD) WWTP of the City of Boise, Idaho, USA, to
provide the struvite crystalliser technology to treat 2,300
m3/d(0.6 MGD) of high-phosphorus wastewater. A second
plant came on line in May 2012 for recovery of phosphorus
at the Yakima WA WWTP.
Q: What if a utility is still adding chemicals to remove phosphorus? Are there potential commercial routes for it to
explore?
JB: In many plants today phosphorus removal is achieved
by chemical addition of Ferric salts or Alum which would
tie up the phosphorus with no release in the digesters. Most
options are either too difficult or expensive to recover the
phosphorus. However, the sludge could be incinerated and
the phosphorus could be recovered from the ash.
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WaterMalaysia
Petzet & Cornel showed that complete phosphorus recovery from wastewater is technically feasible. Depending
on the composition of the sewage sludge ash from sludge
incinerators, there are various options for phosphorus recovery. For sewage sludge that is co-incinerated in power plants,
municipal waste incinerators or cement kilns, phosphorus
recovery is not possible, however, and lost forever.
Recovering phosphorus from ash is already happening
in Europe where many plants use chemicals for phosphorus
removal. A large centralised Thermos plant is in operation in
Vlissingen, The Netherlands that accepts ash from many locations in lieu of mined phosphorus rock in the manufacturing
of phosphorus fertilisers and has replaced more than 20% of
the rock with incinerator ash.
Q: How much phosphorus could be recovered from ash?
JB: Almost 100% could be recovered by either wet chemical
or thermal treatment processes. For now, however, those
processes are not cost-effective and cannot compete with
recovery of phosphorus from struvite processes I mentioned
earlier like the Ostara, DHV Crystalactor or Phosnix process
to name just three. Studies including that by Baur in 2011
showed that by stripping the phosphorus from the sludge
before digestion can be cost effective with an overall payback period of not more than 10 years.
Q: So how would you recommend wastewater utilities take
advantage of this future economic opportunity?
JB: I think most wastewater utilities are already looking at this
area. If it’s not being formally done, they need to find ways
to factor commercial phosphorus recovery into their long
term plans. They need to be able to adapt their treatment
processes, potentially upgrade or build new infrastructure
and also identify the right market. There are also many
regulatory requirements that need to be considered and
understand and collaborate with other efforts that are likely
to be underway. It’s a complex process but one that could
reap considerable gains for the utility over the long term.
(This article was first published in the May/June 2013 issue of
Asian Water magazine)
News from Around the World
ADB partners with 18 banks to help
Chinese cities
T
he Asian Development Bank is partnering with 18 banks
to help China Water Affairs Group Limited (CWA) to
increase access and improve water efficiency in smalland medium-sized cities in the People’s Republic of China
(PRC).
The US$100 million B loan is part of ADB’s US$200 million
financing package to the project, which also includes
an ADB-financed loan of US$100 million. Through the B
loan structure, the participating banks share with ADB the
benefit of ADB’s preferred creditor status.
Under the project, CWA will turn around multiple
water utilities formerly owned by municipal governments,
rehabilitating distribution pipelines, installing meters for all
customers, instilling commercial management practices,
and improving access to safe water. The loan is expected
to benefit five million customers, including poor households,
who currently have limited access to safe drinking water.
The PRC government is actively promoting publicprivate partnership for water supply chain but around 90%
WORLD NEWS
of municipal distribution networks are still owned by local
governments.
“Water distribution is a new frontier for private sector
participation in Asia. A prime objective of B loan is to share
our development mission with our partner banks. We are
pleased to work together with 18 banks for enhancing
access to cleaner piped water in smaller cities,“ said Hisaka
Kimura, Principal Investment Specialist in ADB’s Private
Sector Operations Department.
The fund is provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland
plc, Korea Development Bank, Chang Hwa Commercial
Bank, Chinatrust Commercial Bank, First Commercial Bank,
Taiwan Cooperative Bank, KEB Asia Finance, Kookmin Bank
Hong Kong, Woori Global Markets Asia, Hang Seng Bank,
Mega International Commercial Bank, Taiwan Business
Bank, Bank SinoPac, Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China (Asia), Land Bank of Taiwan, Sunny Bank, Taichung
Commercial Bank, The Bank of East Asia, Limited, and ADB
as the lender of record.
New Sewerage Rules under WSIA
enforced on 1st July 2013
S
uruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) has
recently announced that the Water Services Industry
(Planning, Design and Construction of Sewerage System
and Septic Tank) Rules 2013 has been enforced from 1st
July 2013. The rules issued pursuant to Sections 45 and 180
of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA) set out the
requirements for securing approval for sewerage systems
and septic tanks. All applications submitted after this
date will also be subject to payment of the appropriate
processing fee to the Sewerage Certifying Agency. More
information can be obtained by visiting SPAN’s website at
www.span.gov.my.
Pollution costs US$80 billion a year in
India
T
he World Bank estimates in a new report that environmental degradation is costing India INR 3.75 trillion
(US$80 billion) per year, or 5.7% of GDP. Of this total,
outdoor air pollution has been accounted at INR 1.1
trillion followed by the cost of indoor air pollution at INR
0.9 trillion, croplands degradation cost at INR 0.7 trillion,
inadequate water supply and sanitation cost at around at
INR 0.5 trillion, pastures degradation cost at INR 0.4 trillion,
and forest degradation cost at INR 0.1 trillion.
According to the report, in the presence of perceived
health risks, individuals often take measures to avoid
them. These are usually considered as a cost of the health
risks of environmental burden. If consumers perceive
that the municipal water supply or the other sources of
water supply they rely on are unsafe, they are likely to
purchase bottled water for drinking purposes, or boil
their water, or install waTable 1: Estimated Total Annual Household Cost of Averting Expenditures
ter purification filters. The
estimated costs of these
Total Annual Cost
options are given in Table
(Billion Rs.)
1. The assumed hypothetical level of expenditure
Urban
Rural
here is zero (no avertive exCost of bottled water consumption
7
20
penses would be incurred
if the water supplied was
Cost of household boiling drinking water
4
3
safe). The total amount of
avertive expenditures for
Cost of household filtering drinking water
14
7
India amount to about INR
38
17
Total annual cost
55 Bn. a year.
Source: Staff estimates.
WaterMalaysia
33
News from Around the World
US Energy Department report warns
climate effects will get worse
T
he US Department of Energy released a new report
which assesses how America’s critical energy and
electricity infrastructure is vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change. Historically high temperatures in recent
years have been accompanied by droughts and extreme
heat waves, more wildfires than usual, and several intense
storms that caused power and fuel disruptions for millions
of people. These trends are expected to continue, which
could further impact energy systems critical to the nation’s economy.
The US Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change
and Extreme Weather report, which builds on President
Obama’s Climate Action Plan, notes that annual temperatures across the United States have increased by
about 1.5°F over the last century. In fact, 2012 was both the
warmest year on record in the contiguous United States
and saw the hottest month since the country started keeping records in 1895. The implications for America’s energy
infrastructure include:
• Increased risk of temporary partial or full shutdowns
at thermoelectric (coal, natural gas, and nuclear)
power plants because of decreased water availability
for cooling and higher ambient and air water temperatures. Thermoelectric power plants require water
cooling in order to operate. A study of coal plants, for
example, found that roughly 60% of the current fleet is
located in areas of water stress.
• Reduced power generation from hydroelectric power
plants in some regions and seasons due to drought
and declining snowpack. For example, earlier spring
snowmelts could decrease summer water availability
leading to potential hydropower shortages when energy demand for cooling is greatest.
• Risks to energy infrastructure located along the coast
from sea level rise, increasing intensity of storms, and
higher storm surge and flooding -- potentially disrupt-
ing oil and gas production, refining, and distribution,
as well as electricity generation and distribution.
• Increasing risks of physical damage to power lines,
transformers and electricity distribution systems from
hurricanes, storms and wildfires that are growing more
intense and more frequent.
• Increased risks of disruption and delay to fuel transport
by rail and barge during more frequent periods of
drought and flooding that affect water levels in rivers
and ports.
• Higher air conditioning costs and risks of blackouts
and brownouts in some regions if the capacity of
existing power plants does not keep pace with the
growth in peak electricity demand due to increasing
temperatures and heat waves. An Argonne National
Laboratory study found that higher peak electricity
demand as a result of climate change related temperature increases will require an additional 34 GW of
new power generation capacity in the western United
States alone by 2050, costing consumers $45 billion.
This is roughly equivalent to more than 100 new power
plants, and doesn’t include new power plants that will
be needed to accommodate growth in population or
other factors.
In addition to identifying critical areas at risk from climate
change and extreme weather, the report also identifies
activities already underway to address these challenges,
and discusses potential opportunities to make the energy sector more resilient. Potential future opportunities
for federal, state, and local governments could include
innovative policies that broaden the suite of available
climate-resilient energy technologies and encourage
their deployment, improved data collection and models
to better inform researchers and lawmakers of energy
sector vulnerabilities and response opportunities, and
enhanced stakeholder engagement.
Mott MacDonald helps improve water supply
in Indonesia
M
ott MacDonald is providing technical assistance
for a project that will address water shortages
in Indonesia’s thi rd largest cit y, Bandung, and its
surrounding areas.
Watershed degradation, rapid urbanisation and
industrialisation, as well as slow development of surface
water sources, have created overdependence on
groundwater as a primary source of water. As a result, the
rate of water extraction from local aquifers significantly
exceeds recharge rates, with water tables declining at
more than one metre a year in some areas. This has led
to acute water stress and depletion of aquifers in major
urban areas such as Bandung.
The National Development Planning Agency has
commissioned Mott MacDonald to prepare a water
supply master plan. This includes a management plan
for groundwater upper catchment management areas.
34
WaterMalaysia
The consultancy will also identify reforms needed to
strengthen the water supply system.
Bandung lies on the Citarum river basin which
provides 80% of the water consumed in the capital city
Jakarta and surrounding areas. It supports a population
of about 30 million, contributes 20% of the country’s
industrial outputs and produces 5% of the country’s
rice.
“Loss of forest cover and unsustainable farming
practices on steep slopes in the upper catchments
has resulted in reduced infiltration of rainfall, inhibiting
groundwater recharge and contributing to rapid run-off
of surface water. Sustainable management of surface
and groundwater is critical to the country’s economic
development and food security,” commented Hero
Heering, Mott MacDonald’s project director. The project
is due for completion in 2014.
News from Around the World
Australia’s largest desalination plant is
operational
G
E’s Power Conversion business has helped bring
Australia’s largest seawater desalination plant into
operation to complement catchments and storages in
the area around Melbourne.
The Victorian Desalination Project, 130 km southeast
of Melbourne, runs on low- and medium-voltage drives
and medium-voltage motors supplied by GE. The plant
is among the largest reverse osmosis plants in the world.
It was brought online in November 2012, completed
successfully the required 30-day continuous production
test and reached full operation in December, three
years after construction began.
The plant can supply up to 150 billion litres of
drinking water per year to Melbourne and regional
communities, providing a rainfall independent supply,
and is a resource that will be valued particularly in
times of future drought.
The AquaSure consortium, which led the project,
contracted Thiess Degrémont Joint Venture to design,
construct and operate the desalination plant—valued
at AU$3.5 billion—together with marine structures, a
1.9m in diameter water transfer pipeline stretching over
84km and an 87km underground power line (the longest
220kV HVAC underground power cable of its type in the
world) to connect the plant with the electricity grid.
The plant incorporates reverse osmosis desalination
technology used by Degrémont, a subsidiary of Suez
Environment and a world leader in the field.
Ef fo r ts have been made to m i n i m i se the
envi ronmental impact of the desal ination plant.
Reverse osmosis is the most energy-efficient method
of desalinating water, and the plant includes energy
recovery devices to reduce power consumption. Its
underground power supply is co-located with the
pipeline and all operational energy is 100% offset by
renewable energy certificates. The plant is covered
by Australia’s largest living green roof and there is a
225 hectare revegetated coastal park for public use.
Long intake and outlet tunnels help protect the coast
and marine environment.
Big brands indicted in Indonesian toxic
water scandal
G
reenpeace International investigations have revealed the dumping of industrial wastewater containing a cocktail of toxic and hazardous chemicals, and
caustic water, directly into the Citarum River, West Java.
International fashion brands, including Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy are linked to this pollution through
their direct business relations with PT Gistex Group; the
company behind the polluting facility.
“Gap’s latest advertising campaign declares that
we should ‘Be Bright’, but by collaborating with toxic
suppliers Gap’s clothes are turning the Citarum into a
multi-coloured mess. Gap and other big brands need to
work with their suppliers in Indonesia and elsewhere to
urgently eliminate all uses of hazardous chemicals from
their supply chains and products before it is too late,” said
Ashov Birry, Toxic-Free Water Campaigner, Greenpeace
Southeast Asia.
The report “Toxic Threads: Polluting Paradise” details
how the PT Gistex facility has taken advantage of a system that requires little transparency about its activities
and where inadequate laws are failing to prevent the
release of hazardous chemicals. Other companies linked
to the PT Gistex Group include Brook Brothers – which
has outfitted 39 of the 44 American Presidents, including
Barack Obama – Marubeni Corporation, Adidas Group
and H&M.
A wide range of hazardous substances – including nonylphenol and tributyl phosphate – were identified in the
water samples taken from the PT Gistex facility’s discharge
outfalls. Many of these chemicals are toxic, while some
have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties.
The investigations also revealed wastewater from one of
the smaller outfalls to be extremely alkaline or ‘caustic’
Industrial wastewater containing hazardous chemicals, discharged
directly into the Citarum River by the Gistex Textile Division. Lagadar
village, Kabupaten Bandung.
Photo Courtesy : © Andri Tambunan / Greenpeace
(pH 14) indicating that this wastewater had not received
even the most basic treatment before discharge.
“People living along this river, that rely upon its water,
have a right to know what is being released into it, and
the customers of the international brands like Gap have
a right to know what chemicals are being used to make
their clothes,” added Birry.
The textile industry is currently one of the major contributors to industrial toxic water pollution in West-Java,
with 68% of industrial facilities on the Upper Citarum producing textiles. Greenpeace’s Detox campaign demands
fashion brands commit to zero discharge of all hazardous
chemicals by 2020 and work with their suppliers around
the world to disclose all releases of hazardous chemicals
from their facilities to communities at the site of the water pollution. Launched in July 2011, the campaign has
already convinced 17 international brands including
Valentino, Levi’s and Zara to commit to Detox, mobilising
over a half a million activists, fashionistas, bloggers and
designers.
WaterMalaysia
35
News from Around the World
Suez wins waste contracts in Hong
Kong and Macau
S
uez Environnement, through its subsidiary SITA Waste Services, has won two new contracts in Hong Kong: a ten
year management contract for the North Lantau Transfer
Station and a ten year contract for marine transportation of dewatered sludge. The company has also been
re-awarded the waste collection and cleaning services
contract for Macau.
The contract for North Lantau started in June 2013, and
represents a turnover of around €35 million. Sita Waste
Services will be managing the waste for the largest of
Hong Kong’s islands, including the waste of Hong Kong
International Airport, Disneyland Park and Tung Chung
New Town. With a current design treatment capacity of
650 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, the station will
see its throughput almost double to 1,200 tonnes a day in
the next few years after completion of upgrading works.
The contract with a new client in Hong Kong, the Drainage Services Department (DSD1) has been awarded to the
50-50% partnership between SITA Waste Services and ATAL
Environmental Engineering and the contract will commence in November 2013, representing a revenue of €75
million, with an option to extend for a further five years.
Two self-propelled ocean going vessels will be designed and constructed for transporting dewatered
sludge from the wastewater treatment plant to the sludge
treatment facilities. These new vessels will feature built in
diesel-electric hybrid engines to achieve better and more
efficient environmental contributions. Sita Waste Services
has already acquired over 15 years’ experience in marine
transfer of containerised waste while operating and managing six other transfer stations in Hong Kong.
Furthermore, SITA Waste Services, via its subsidiary
Companhia de Sistemas de Residuos de Macau (CSR), has
been re-awarded the contract for the provision of urban
cleaning services and waste collection and disposal in
Macau for another ten years. This contract represents an
overall revenue of more than €200 million and will start in
November 2013.
Under this contract, SITA Waste Services will support the
community to improve the quality of life of Macau’s residents by reducing waste generation and further increasing
the recovery of recyclable waste. In fact, in a rapidly expanding environment, Macau needs a high-performance
waste management service, primarily in order to manage
an increasingly large number of tourists.
With a presence in the Hong Kong region for more than
20 years, Suez Environnement currently operates two landfill sites handling more than 7,000 tonnes of waste per day,
six transfer stations and seven rehabilitated landfills. It also
offers collection, composting and recycling services.
Veolia Water selected by Thames
Water to upgrade its infrastructure
T
hames Water, UK’s largest water and wastewater
ser vices company, has selected a joint venture
made up of Veolia Water, Costain and Atkins to deliver
a significant proportion of its programme of essential
upgrades to water and wastewater networks and treatment facilities across London and the Thames Valley.
The amount of work for Veolia Water could be worth
as much as £450 million (US$682 million) for the period
2015 to 2020.
To implement its infrastructure upgrade programme,
Thames Water has formed an alliance with four partners,
two of which are joint ventures—including that of Veolia
Water, Costain and Atkins—to deliver a programme of
essential works, which includes the design and construction of water pipes, sewers and treatment facilities. The
contract, represents an investment of £3 billion and is
the largest capex management contract in the water
sector in Europe.
Following an initial planning and mobilisation stage
from 2013-2015 with the joint venture partners, the upgrade programme will begin in 2015 and last five years,
with the option of an extension for a further five years.
USAID to help improve Karachi water
supply
T
he United States government through the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Power
Distribution Programme is helping Karachi Water and
Sewage Board (KW&SB) in improving infrastructure for
water supply.
Currently, a network of pumping stations pump water
from filtration plants to 21 million inhabitants of Karachi.
These pumping stations put in place about 20 years ago
are highly energy-inefficient.
The USAID programme will help replace the worst
36
WaterMalaysia
performing pump-sets with high efficiency ones. So far
41 pumps have been replaced. The programme aims
to complete the replacement of pumps by the end of
September 2013.
The upgrade of the water pumps will decrease KW&SBs
financial burden by US$1.15 million per annum, and provide a continuous supply of clean water to the communities under its jurisdiction, according to John Pullinger
Director Field Operations of USAID Power Distribution
Programme.
News from Around the World
Sumitomo acquires UK water company
S
umitomo Corporation headquartered in Tokyo has
acquired Sutton & East Surrey Water plc (SESW),
a water- only supply and distr ibution company in
England, through the acquisition of 100% of the share
capital of East Surrey Holdings Ltd. As the new owner of
SESW, Sumitomo will be involved in the operation and
management of SESW and aims to improve quality of
service by leveraging Sumitomo’s extensive water sector
experience.
SESW, established in 1862, is the monopoly supplier
of drinking water to residential and business customers
in the affluent east Surrey, west Sussex, west Kent and
south London areas, including Gatwick airport. SESW’s
supply area covers a total of 835 km 2 and a population
of approximately 655,000, through a network including
3,445 km of mains, 8 treatment works, 38 pumping
stations and 35 service reservoirs and water towers.
SESW’s water concession is responsible for the
operation and maintenance of, and the management
of capital investment in its water supply infrastructure.
It undertakes the complete range of water concession
business activities, including the abstraction, treatment
and distribution of drinking water, as well as billing,
collection and other customer services.
Automotive wastewater treatment
market gets boost in Asia-Pacific
T
he relocation of automotive manufacturing from
North America and Europe to Asia-Pacific, especially
to emerging countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia,
is expected to boost the prospects of the water and
wastewater treatment (WWWT) market. Environmental
regulations, along with manufacturers’ desire to cut costs
and use water more efficiently, have expanded the market
for WWWT solutions.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (Water and
Wastewater Treatment Solutions Market in Automotive
Industry in Asia-Pacific), finds that market earned revenues
of US$116.8 million in 2011 and estimates this to reach
US$156.2 million by 2016. Water treatment solutions market
for the automotive industry are categorised as reverse
osmosis (RO), ultra filtration (UF)/micro filtration (MF), ion
exchange (IE), and electro-deionisation (EDI). Wastewater
treatment solutions are divided into primary, secondary
and tertiary treatments.
“While automotive may not be the most water-intensive
industr y, automakers are keen to lower their water
use per unit of vehicle produced,” said Frost & Sullivan
Environmental Senior Consultant David Lee. “Although the
quality of water used may not be a critical factor, unlike in
the pharmaceutical or power industries, the automotive
industry has collectively started adopting more efficient
water treatment solutions.”
Membrane technology will continue to be the solution
of choice for treating makeup water and cooling water,
and be used as a key component in the secondary
treatment of the wastewater treatment p rocess.
Membrane solutions such as RO and MF/UF are preferred
for their efficiency and affordability, while the demand for
IE is expected to decline in the near future, as the process
involves the discharge of huge amounts of harmful byproducts and waste.
Thailand and Indonesia are the largest revenue
generators for WWWT solutions and will continue to be so till
2016 due to the on-going reforms in the automotive industry
and industrialization plans in these countries. Japan and
South Korea will also continue to be key markets owing to
the scale of their automotive manufacturing industry.
However, while the automotive industry is thriving in
the Asia-Pacific, WWWT is not a matter of priority for the
manufacturers. The high initial investments deter several
automotive manufacturers. Barring Japan and South
Korea, vehicle manufacturers in Southeast Asia are slow
adopters of technology and have low awareness about
water sustainability.
“To tap the cost-conscious Asia-Pacific automotive
end-user market, WWWT solution providers must offer
competitively priced products,” noted Mr Lee. “They
should also ensure a high level of customization and
design, and establish a strong local presence to remain
competitive.”
Resolution of S’gor Water Issue by Dec ‘13
E
nergy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk
Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said he has been given three
months to conclude his discussion with the Selangor
state government and reach a definitive agreement on
the restructuring of Selangor’s water services industry as
reported in the Sun Daily. Ongkili said the Federal Government is in the midst of preparing its counter-proposal
in response to Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s proposal on the restructuring of Selangor’s water
services industry, following the Cabinet’s endorsement
for further discussions and fine-tuning. “This has been discussed at length… we’ll be meeting the concessionaires
and Khalid. We’ll officially write to him in response to his
series of proposals in respect of the takeover,” he told
reporters after the opening of the Fifth National Energy
Forum recently. He said talks have already started and
there is an “openness” on the Selangor state government’s side for further discussions, while Prime Minister
and the Cabinet have stated that they are open to the
takeover subject to a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis
in terms of pricing the water assets.
Ongkili reiterated that the Langat 2 water treatment
plant project must go on to ensure sufficient and sustainable water supply and that investments continue to flow
into the country. He said the Langat 2 project will be able
to supply up to 50% of the state’s water needs compared
with the current state’s water supply which can only meet
60% of the needs due to limited water resource.
WaterMalaysia
37
Listing of New MWA Members
MWA NEW MEMBERSHIP LISTING
New Membership Approved (July 2013)
38
Name/Company
Title
Category
Roll No.
Membership No.
2705
IM 0297
Groundwater Solutions Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2706
IM 0298
Tunas Awam Pemaju Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2707
IM 0299
Tunas Nasional Holdings Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2708
IM 0300
Water Engineering Technology Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2709
IM 0301
CDS Engineering Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2710
IM 0302
LE Laboratory Equipment Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2711
IM 0303
Waterlink Technologies Sdn Bhd
Institutional
2712
OM 2060
Mr.
Shaharuddin bin Nor Mohamed
Ordinary
2713
OM 2061
Mr.
Mohd Hazley bin Halim
Ordinary
2714
OM 2062
Mr.
Huzaimi bin Mansor
Ordinary
2715
OM 2063
Mr.
Nik Mohd Mawardi bin Nik Mohamed Amin
Ordinary
2716
OM 2064
Mrs.
Nor Idayu binti Omar
Ordinary
2717
OM 2065
Mrs.
Rasidah binti Md Rashid
Ordinary
2718
OM 2066
Mr.
Asabri bin Robenson
Ordinary
2719
OM 2067
Mr.
Ng Sau Chan, Henry
Ordinary
2720
OM 2068
Mr.
Loh Wei Lun
Ordinary
2721
OM 2069
Ir.
Ahmad Rahimi bin Hj. Mat
Ordinary
2722
OM 2070
Mr.
Yew Loo Guan
Ordinary
2723
OM 2071
Dr.
Abdullah Al Mamun
Ordinary
2724
OM 2072
Dr.
Mohamed Hasnain Isa
Ordinary
2725
OM 2073
Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Shamsul Rahman Mohamed Kutty
Ordinary
2726
OM 2074
Mr.
Zainal Abidin bin Ismail
Ordinary
2727
OM 2075
Mr.
Jailani bin Jasmani
Ordinary
2728
OM 2076
Mr.
Choo Jern Yue, Edwin
Ordinary
2729
OM 2077
Mr.
Ahmad Fhamy bin Ahmad Sallehudin
Ordinary
2730
OM 2078
Mr.
Ng Kian Lin
Ordinary
2731
OM 2079
Mr.
Elwin Alulod Merquita
Ordinary
2732
OM 2080
Ybhg. Dato’ Hj.
Samsuri bin Rahmat
Ordinary
2733
OM 2081
Mr.
Muhammad Yusof bin Anuar
Ordinary
2734
OM 2082
Mr.
Tan Chuan Hock
Ordinary
2735
OM 2083
Ms.
Nor Farida binti Yusoh
Ordinary
2736
OM 2084
Ms.
Nur Farhany binti Khairy
Ordinary
2737
OM 2085
Ms.
Rohaiza binti Saidin
Ordinary
2738
OM 2086
Ms.
Azrina binti Abd Aziz
Ordinary
2739
OM 2087
Mr.
Liew Wai Loan
Ordinary
2740
OM 2088
Mr.
Lau Leong Lee, Albert
Ordinary
2741
OM 2089
Mr.
Tan Chia Vern
Ordinary
2742
OM 2090
Mr.
Ng Koon Teck
Ordinary
2743
OM 2091
Mr.
Kalaiselvam A/L Rajagopal
Ordinary
2744
OM 2092
Mr.
Sueshanedra Lee A/L Subramaniam
Ordinary
2745
OM 2093
Mr.
Muamar Shakir bin Shafurdin
Ordinary
2746
OM 2094
Mr.
C M Saidi bin Che Kob
Ordinary
2747
OM 2095
Mr.
Zaukamarudi bin Zainudin
Ordinary
WaterMalaysia
Calendar of Events
THE MALAYSIAN WATER
ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES AND
PARTICIPATING EVENTS 2013
NO.
TENTATIVE DATE
PARTICULARS
1
The 5 IWA-Aspire Conference and Exhibition
2
VENUE
8-12 September 2013
Daejon, South Korea
The IWA-Aspire Council Meeting
10 September 2013
Daejon, South Korea
3
The IWA Governing Assembly
14 September 2013
Istanbul, Turkey
4
The 3rd IWA Development Congress & Exhibition
14-17 October 2013
Nairobi, Kenya
5
Visit to Genbina on Hot-tapping technology
6
Visit to JalurCahaya (NRW info sharing)
7
World Water Monitoring Challenge
8
MWA 25th Anniversary Dinner
9
Visit to Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Site Office
th
22 October 2013
Shah Alam
October-December 2013 Shah Alam
October-December 2013 Kuala Lumpur
8 November 2013
November 2013
Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Karak, Pahang
* Actual Date/Venue/Topic - yet to be confirmed
For updates/inquiries:
Events & Activities 2013
The Malaysian Water Association (MWA)
Tel: 03 6201 2250 / 6521
Fax: 03 6201 5801
asni@malaysianwater.org.my (Asni Abdullah)
rubby@malaysianwater.org.my (Rubby Mahmod)
Training 2013
Malaysian Water Academy Sdn Bhd (MyWA)
Tel: 03 6201 1457 / 1562
Fax: 03 6201 1466
ameera@malaysianwater.org.my (Ameera Ahmad Tarusan)
abu.nain@malaysianwater.org.my (Abu Nain)
Be a MEMBER and enjoy...
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Participation in MWA Activities (Talk/ Technical Visit/ Seminar)
Free MWA Publication
Discount Rate for Training/ Publication on Sale
Discount rate to Local and International Conference/ Technical Tours
Information on the Latest Development in Water & Wastewater Industry
Right to Vote for MWA Council Member (Ordinary/ Institutional)
Right to Run for Council Member
The Platform for Exchanging Views/ Ideas/ Knowledge
visit us at www.mwa.org.my
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
Indah Water Konsortium www.iwk.com.my.............................................................
IBC
PVT Engineering Sdn. Bhd. www.pvte.com.my .......................................................
IFC
Water Malaysia 2015 www.watermalaysia.com........................................................
BC
WaterMalaysia
39
ORDER FORM
Advertisement in MWA Quarterly
Water Malaysia
Advertising Rates 2013 In MWA Quarterly
Water Malaysia
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WATER MALAYSIA and wish to book advertising space
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40
WaterMalaysia
June/July 2008
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