GEORGE TOWN, Dec 7 — Penang’s treated water is amongst the cleanest, safest and healthiest in Malaysia, according to Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP).

PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said the findings were based on 3,148 tests conducted by PBAPP on treated water in the state, in the past 11 months.

He said under its Quality Assurance Programme (QAP), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has set the national parameters for water turbidity, free residual chlorine, e-coli bacteria, e-coli + free residual chlorine and aluminium in treated water.

"In Penang, PBAPP’s Central Laboratory and the Penang State Health Department, under the MOH, jointly sample and test treated water regularly in accordance to the National Drinking Water Quality Surveillance programme (NDWQS).

"The treated water test results for Penang for 2019 (to date) showed that PBAPP’s ‘product’ complied with all the MOH requirements, with significant achievements recorded well below the QAP parameters for microbial and chemical contents,” he said in a statement, here today.

Jaseni also said the PBAPP Central Laboratory received its third consecutive ‘Laboratory Excellence Award’ from the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry yesterday.

He said this year’s award to the PBAPP Central Laboratory was specifically for the field of water testing and the laboratory had won a similar award in 2017.

"The PBAPP Central Laboratory was established in 2008. It has played a key role in supporting PBAPP’s water treatment operations in terms of quality assurance, especially at the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant, Penang’s largest water treatment plant.

"On average, the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant produced about 900 million litres of treated water per day, or more than 80 per cent of the treated water consumed in Penang in 2019. Tests on the treated water verify that the quality is good and consistent,” he added. — Bernama