Returning Malaysia's Rivers To L - Malaysian Water Association.

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 Drain-
Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel
(SMART),KL
Courtesy of Gamuda Berhad
WaterMalaysia 21