PUB, Singapore's water agency, said on Sunday that it is supplying additional treated water to Malaysia this week after the production in the Johor's water plants were disrupted because of pollution issues. According to the statement of the agency, pollution to the river catchment caused the alarm. The agency said that their Johor River Waterworks was not affected by the incident.
Johor requested the assistance of the agency for the distribution of water to the residents. The agency assisted Johor residents through its Pasir Gutang offtake that supplied an additional 6 million gallons of treated water per day from January 2 to 4. The agency is supplying 16 million gallons of water per day to Johor.
According to the 1962 Water Agreement between Singapore and Johor, Singapore is required to supply 5 million gallons per day of treated water. The agency said that they have also supplied additional water to Johor in addition to the usual amount that they are providing for twenty days last year.
According to the agency they are supplying water at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons to Johor.it is equivalent to a fraction of the cost of treating the water.
The agency emphasized that their actions are done without the prejudice to their rights under the 1962 Water Agreement as notates the long-running cooperation between the water agencies of the two countries. It added that PUB has far been responsive to assist Johor residents to reduce the impact of the water disruptions in the spirit of good neighborliness.
According to reports, the pollution was caused by sand-mining operations in the rivers. The Johor government is now planning to impose harsh actions against sand-mining operators in the state after they failed to maintain their mining areas which caused pollution to the rivers and intervened with the supply of treated water to the residents.
Jimmy Puah Wee Tse, the chairman of the Johor International Trade, investment and Utilities Committee, said that they will not compromise with those who pollute water sources. He said that stern action should be imposed on the operators as the state government considers the issue of water disruption that the people face due to river pollution.
The water disruption on January 1 affected around 3,000 homes in Taman Desa Tebrau and its neighboring areas. Puah said that that the cooperation between the state government through BAKAJ and PUB will ensure that Johoreans enjoys an uninterrupted supply of treated water.
