Discharge from closed pig farms likely cause of pollution at Tanjung Sepat beach

Water authority says its inspection found that effluents from disused retention ponds had flowed into drains, which eventually reached the shore.

A stream in Tanjung Sepat allegedly polluted by pig waste flowing towards the sea. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) has identified remnants of discharge from the retention ponds of several inoperational pig farms as the likely cause of pollution along the Tanjung Sepat coastline in Kuala Langat.

Luas said it conducted a site inspection at Kampung Tumbuk in Tanjung Sepat yesterday following media reports of pollution linked to pig farming activities upstream.

“Further checks at several pig farming premises in the area found that these farms were no longer operational,” it said in a Facebook post.

“However, several retention ponds at these premises are suspected of having discharged effluents into nearby drains.

“The black-coloured discharge observed along the coast are remnants of the effluents that flowed from the retention ponds when these premises were operational.”

Luas said it has issued a notice under Section 121(1) of the Luas Enactment 1999 to the parties concerned, ordering them to stop the effluent flow, carry out cleaning works, and implement mitigation measures at the sites.

The water authority has also collected samples for analysis by the chemistry department to support further enforcement actions against the pig farming activities in the area.

Luas said it has also engaged with the relevant agencies, including the Selangor veterinary services department, to coordinate and publicise action to be taken at the affected farms.

Earlier reports by FMT noted that the Selangor environment department was investigating claims that pig waste had polluted a stretch of sea off Tanjung Sepat.

The department’s director, Wandi Yadzid Yaakob, confirmed that officers have been ordered to verify the complaint.

The investigation follows claims by PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari that pig farms in the area had been disposing of waste without proper treatment or regulatory compliance, with effluents flowing into the Straits of Malacca.

He attributed the pollution to inadequate waste management at the farms. - FMT