PETALING JAYA: Companies, under their corporate social responsibility programmes, are wading in to help clean up rivers and drains to rehabilitate the water source.

Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB) Foundation, for instance, has a project called “Working Actively Through Education and Rehabilitation” (Water).

Started in 2007, it reached a milestone in its effort to rehabilitate the 2.5km Sungai Way here, which was plagued by waste pollution.

Its director Renuka Indrarajah said the foundation worked with the Global Environment Centre (GEC) to install rubbish traps and grease traps along the river and implement the “river within river” approach whereby efforts were made to improve the river's physical condition.

“The work done included habitat creation along the river banks and increasing bio-diversity.

“We also engaged the surrounding communities from Desa Mentari, Desa Ria, Kampung Lindungan, SS3 and SS9A,” she said yesterday, adding that the foundation received tremendous support from government agencies as well.

GAB foundation also organises various community activities, which centre on good habits such as recycling and composting.

The river, said Indrarajah, had seen much improvement after three years, which included a dramatic decrease in pollution and better water quality after being too polluted to be able to support living organisms.

“We can also see signs of living creatures in the river and its surrounding areas,” she said.

Indrarajah said people do not realise that some of the monsoon drains in cities such as Petaling Jaya were actually concretised rivers.

“So, keeping drains clean is also an important part of protecting the water source. Water from drains flows into rivers. Polluted drains will lead to polluted rivers as well,” she said.