PETALING JAYA: Following its stellar performance for more than two decades, the government has agreed to allow Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), the country’s largest sewerage service provider, to continue managing sewerage services until 2034.
The government awarded a concession agreement to IWK in 1994 after a sewerage service law was passed in Parliament the year before. IWK was given the responsibility to maintain the public sewerage system until March 31, 2022.
The agreement’s extension was made following a Cabinet decision in October last year, taking into consideration IWK’s performance.
Since its establishment in 1994, IWK has operated and maintained more than 7,000 public sewage treatment plants (STPs), and over 20,000km of sewer lines, making it one of the largest sewerage service operators in the region.
IWK also provides service on another type of sewerage system known as septic tanks. Currently, there are more than 1.4 million septic tanks and a million traditional systems in use nationwide.
However, despite providing the services to millions of households in the country, many customers don’t realise the importance of IWK in their daily lives.
“Customers tend to say that they do not see the services provided by IWK. The fact that you are able to flush your toilet and your waste is taken out through a system to our STP and is treated before being discharged into the environment shows that the services are being rendered,” IWK CEO Narendran Maniam told FMT.
He said without proper management of this treatment system, the environment could be polluted as the wastewater that enters the septic tanks could flow into water sources or to the surface.
He stressed the importance of the sewerage treatment system on people’s daily lives as well as to the environment by explaining the treatment process.
“First, the sewage from domestic households for connected systems is channelled into sewer pipelines and directly into STPs.
“The initial stage is known as pre-treatment, whereby rubbish, solids, grit and grease are removed before undergoing further treatment. The purpose of pre-treatment is to protect the structure and mechanical and electrical equipment downstream against large objects which could create obstructions in some of the STP facilities.
“Once the larger substances are screened out, the wastewater undergoes a biological process, which is the introduction of microbes to break down the wastewater. From there, the wastewater is channelled into clarifiers, consisting of tanks or basins which hold water or wastewater for a period sufficient to allow the floc and other suspended materials to settle to the bottom.
“The clarification process makes the water clear by removing particles, sediments, oil and natural organic matter. The particles then form a bottom layer of sludge requiring regular removal and disposal. Clarified water then proceeds through several more steps before being sent for storage and use.”
Narendran said IWK’s STPs operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as the treatment is an ongoing process and robust.
Hence, he added, it is important to ensure all equipment functions optimally with monitoring systems to reduce malfunction.
While most of the STPs are mechanised and automated, thousands of workers are still needed to manage the whole system.
“IWK has approximately 3,400 personnel nationwide to manage more than 7,000 STPs.”
Narendran also highlighted issues relating to operational costs, saying IWK charges its customers cheaper than the actual cost it incurs.
“The average maintenance cost of a sewerage system for premises that use connected system services is around RM17 per month, compared to the current tariff of between RM2 and RM8 per month.
“The disparity between the current charges and the actual operating cost can also be found in our desludging service, whereby IWK charges its customers RM144 per service. However, the approximate cost of operation is RM263 per service,” he said. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.