GEORGE TOWN, April 22 — The murky and smelly waters of Sungai Batu Ferringhi that flow to the Batu Ferringhi sea have irked holiday makers, hoteliers and fishermen.

Raw sewage was among the factors behind the contaminated waters, revealed a senior state government officer.

“We (the state government) received complaints from residents several days ago regarding this matter. The Department of Environment (DOE) had taken samples from Sungai Batu Ferringhi even before the issue was highlighted by the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP),” the officer,  who requested anonymity, said.

“Our initial investigations showed the discharge from a sewage treatment plant was the source of the pollution.”

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The officer said the prolonged hot weather also contributed to the water quality, and the sea waters were unable to wash away the sediments and impurities,   causing the waters to turn black.

He said the state government was investigating.

A similar incident happened in 2014 when polluted waters from the river flowed into the sea and traces of E-coli bacteria were found. It was then established that Indah Water Konsortium was responsible for the contamination.

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Meanwhile, tourists holidaying in Batu Ferringhi are turned off by the quality of the waters and foul smell. The polluted river runs between Hard Rock Hotel and Bayview Beach Resort.

Australian couple Hamish McDonald, 41, and his wife Lucy, 45, were disappointed with what they saw yesterday.

They were in Langkawi two days earlier and expected a similar view of the sea.

“Foul smell, dirty sea ... you name it and we’ve seen it. It is very disappointing,” said McDonald.

“The drainage tunnel is too close to the sea and it’s affecting the waters.                    

It’s a shame when this sea was once said to be an attraction but this is no longer the case.”

Bilal Sindi, 29, from Saudi Arabia, and his Polish wife, Angelika Klamecka, 27, who are in Penang for their honeymoon, said their trip had turned out to be a “bad outing”.

“My friend recommended us to visit Batu Ferringhi but the sea looks murky. We could have gone to Phuket instead,” Sindi said.

A water sports operator who has been plying his trade in the area for the past eight years said the black waters and smell were a problem.

“It’s already affecting business. If this continues, people will continue to stay away from the beach and the sea,” said Mohd Rizal Abdul Rahman.

CAP had said on Wednesday the livelihood of the coastal fishermen was being threatened.

It urged the state government and the relevant authorities to intervene and take immediate action to resolve the matter.

“The pollution problem there has become more serious in the past three months. It had affected the fishermen because their main catch of fish and shrimp has declined drastically,” said its president, S.M. Mohamed Idris.

He said the fishermen had been earning more than RM200 a day but now they could only get an income of RM30 to RM40 a day.

“They do not find it worthwhile going to sea and are worried their nets will be damaged,” he said.

“Some have decided not to go to sea as long as the government does not resolve the problem.”

Mohamed Idris said checks by the association also showed that discharge from the sewage treatment plant was the source of the pollution. 

“The water in Sungai Batu Ferringhi is not only black in colour but also oily, silty and stinks,” he said.

“The fishermen have reported that some species of fish such as gelama, tengkerong, grouper and snapper have been found dead because of the pollution.”