PETALING JAYA (April 21, 2009) : A full audit of all Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd operations should be done if the Department of Environment's (DOE) finding on the discharge of sludge from the company’s water treatment plant in Bukit Badong into Sungai Selangor proves affirmative, say environmental groups.

They also called for close scrutiny and audits of industries in the Klang Valley.

"There seems to be a lack of proper monitoring in this case," Malaysian Nature Society communications department head Andrew Sebastian said today.

"Once investigations into the matter have been completed and if DOE’s investigations prove affirmative, then Puncak Niaga should be made accountable and a full audit of all its operations should be done.

"We cannot just sit back and allow people who should be doing a job to shirk it."

Earlier this month, the DOE’s investigations into public complaints detected discharge of sludge from the treatment plant into Sungai Selangor, the same river from which the plant takes in water to be cleaned.

The sludge -- a by-product of the water treatment and cleaning process -- is supposed to be channelled to sludge lagoons and later dried out on sludge drying beds in the vicinity. It is then to be disposed of in accordance with World Health Organisation and Health ministry standards.

However, DOE found that three of the four sludge lagoons had reached maximum capacity and were not well maintained. Furthermore, the sludge drying beds were not covered and managed properly and were flooded with rain water.

Sebastian said there were ways to prevent this from happening again. "Households and industries in the Klang Valley need to start self-regulating their operations and not just depend on the DOE to conduct checks," he said.

"If it is not Puncak Niaga, we will be able to find many other sources of pollutants of our rivers in the Klang Valley.

"People need to understand that not everything needs to go into the sewage system. This involves changing habits and lifestyles, and planning towards this, which needs to be done by the government."

He said that in a number of developed countries, self-regulation is done by industries to curb the problem of pollution. However, in Malaysia, there is a lack of scrutiny although environmental audits are done.

"These audits should be scrutinised when permits and approvals for these industries are up for renewal."

Global Environment Centre (GEC) river care coordinator Dr K. Kalithasan said the release of sludge into the rivers can result in adverse effects to the ecosystem.

The sludge could clog the gills of fresh water fish, and the increase of turbidity in the water would filter the sunlight and cause marine life at the bottom of the river bed to perish.

"This would result in a break in the food chain and cause a drop in organisms and other river lifeforms," he said.

Kalithasan said self-regulation will not work in Malaysia.

"It is also difficult for community monitoring as this is a restricted water treatment plant," he said.

"What we need is better enforcement and audits by independent third parties that trace the movement of sludge and effluents discharged by industries.

"By this, we can tell how the company or industry is managing its waste and if it fits environmental requirements."