Pollution of Water Sources in Malaysia

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INTRODUCTION

In Malaysia, rivers have been used as a source of water and various development needs. There is no denying that water is a very significant natural resources. Irrigation, industrial and domestic needs consume water while other development such as recreation, hydroelectric power generation, and transportation rely on the quality and availability of water (Talib, Ariffin, & Baharom, n.d.). However it seems that humans have not realized how significant it is. Deprivation of their quality and ability to perform important functions bring major consequences results in long-term economic losses and affecting the population’s quality of life as a whole. The way human use and manage rivers can cause great environmental damage that adversely affects the rivers.

STATUS OF WATER RESOURCES IN MALAYSIA

Even though Malaysia has been blessed with ample supply of water resources, non-uniform temporal and spatial rainfall distribution and increasing occurrences of river pollution have caused numerous crises in water supply services. The quality of river in Malaysia has worsened during the last several years. In recent years, more water is drawn to meet increasing demand, but more destruction results from water that is put back into them by communities, adding sewage, and other effluents and waste. The dirtiest river in the country, in terms of the quantity of rubbish found is Sungai Klang, Sungai Penchala, Sungai Segget and Sungai Ayer Merah in Johor, and Sungai Jelutong, Sungai Juru and Sungai Prai in Penang (Aruna, 2014). These rivers have been categorised as ‘dead’ as they are unable to sustain any form of aquatic life including fish and aquatic plants.

Figure 1: Children playing in Sungai Penchala, Selangor

RIVER POLLUT...

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.../news/malaysia/malaysias-rivers-filth-and-garbage

Danquah, L. (2010). The causes and health effects of river pollution: a case study of the Aboabo river, Kumasi. Retrieved from: http://dspace.knust.edu.gh:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/799/1/Leslie%20Danquah.pdf

Talib, S. A., Ariffin, J., & Baharom, B. (n.d.). River Protection: Alternative Approaches to pollution control. Retrieved from: http://ptarpp2.uitm.edu.my/suhaimiabdultalib/fulltext/riverprotection.pdf

UNESCO. (2006). Water – A Shared Responsibility: The United Nations World Water Development Report 2. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris. Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/bpi/wwap/press/pdf/wwdr2_prelims.pdf

WHO. (2001). Water for Health: Taking Charge, Geneva. World Health Organization. Retrieved from: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2001/WHO_WSH_WWD_01.1.pdf?ua=1

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