Operations at PUB Johor River Waterworks suspended after water pollution incident
Water supply in Singapore remains unaffected, says PUB.
Water pipes running along the Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: Operations at PUB's Johor River Waterworks have been temporarily suspended after a water pollution incident affecting the Johor River.
"Water supply in Singapore remains unaffected as PUB has stepped up production at local plants to meet demand," said Singapore's national water agency on Saturday morning (Nov 1).
"PUB is monitoring the raw water quality in the Johor River closely. Operations will resume when water quality checks show that the Johor River quality is back to normal."
Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon that agencies are closely monitoring the East Johor Strait following two pollution incidents.
One of the incidents affected the Johor River and was caused by sand mining activities.
NEA said it is in touch with Johor's Department of Environment and that the incident has been "contained and stopped".
In its Facebook post, NEA also gave details of a palm oil spill in Johor coastal waters, which has also been contained. The two incidents are not connected.
Under the 1962 Water Agreement, Singapore can draw up to 250 million gallons of water a day from the Johor River, and Singapore is obliged to provide Johor with treated water up to 2 per cent of the water imported.
The Linggiu Reservoir is located upstream of the Johor River Waterworks and releases water into the Johor River to supplement its flow.
Water demand in Singapore is currently about 440 million gallons a day.
According to Bernama news agency, Malaysia's Department of Environment confirmed that damage to a "bund silt pond" is believed to have been caused by sand dredging activities along Johor River.
It was reported that residents and fishermen in Kota Tinggi had found hundreds of dead fish due to the muddy water in the river.
Johor's water regulatory body, Badan Kawalselia Air Johor, has ordered the sand dredging operation to be stopped immediately.
Ranhill SAJ, a water company in Johor, said water treatment plants along Johor River had to cease operations due to the contamination, Bernama reported.
