KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) is initiating a safety test on its raw water sourced from Sungai Muda in Kedah after an abandoned sand mine there was discovered to have been turned into an illegal dump site for industrial and commercial waste.

Its CEO Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said the test is to ensure that the source water is potable.

"Samples of raw water from Sungai Muda will be collected at the Lahar Tiang Intake for independent laboratory testing, following reports of illegal riverside dumping at a riverbank along Sungai Muda in Kedah.

"Nevertheless, we will now collect and send water samples for independent testing. We want to verify that the illegal waste dumping activities near Sungai Muda in Kedah have not compromised raw water quality at the Lahar Tiang Intake in Penang,” he said in a statement today.

He noted that test results on 3,182 samples of treated water collected last year at 213 sampling points statewide showed PBAPP’s water supply was clean and safe for consumption.

The illegal dumpsite, located just 22.8km away from the Lahar Tiang water intake, was found yesterday and immediately sealed by Kedah state authorities.

Sungai Muda supplies 80 per cent of raw water to Penang and 100 per cent to southern Kedah.

To prevent any water supply disruption to Kedah and Penang, Jaseni recommends that the respective state governments conduct better enforcement along the river to deter illegal from activities.

He also called on all landowners to maintain a 30-metre buffer from the river and check all socioeconomic activities along the river on their pollution levels.