.jpg "Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari speaks during a press conference at the Selangor state secretariat building in Shah Alam October 21, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
SHAH ALAM, Oct 21 — The Selangor government considered discounting water bills for consumers who suffered another major disruption this week but needed to prioritise investing to secure the state’s supply, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said today.
In a press conference at his office today, Amiruddin said such a rebate now would hamper the state government’s ability to reduce the risk of river pollution that was the cause of repeated disruptions to the entire Klang Valley’s supply.
"We did discuss that but we will finalise later because for us, we will be spending more to prevent this pollution from happening.
“Otherwise this would be like as if we are giving in to fate that these pollution issues will happen, and every time pollution happens, we have to then pay rebates and all," he said, which he said did not address the root problem.
Amiruddin said that the state government is trying hard to prevent pollution problems to its raw water supply
He added that between April and September, the state government managed to avoid any water disruption issues owing to its 24-hour monitoring process and the movement control order (MCO).
"However, lately, these pollution incidents have been recurring and it is very unfortunate, and we have to increase our monitoring process," he said, adding that more officers would be hired to increase surveillance.
He said that the state government is looking to hire at least 20 officers for this purpose.
"If we provide a (per user) discount of about RM2, for example, we need about RM4 million. We already did the costing.
“Compared to this, it would be better if we could take this RM4 million and use it to add officers who can detect pollution at the early stages or before it enters treatment plants,” he said.
Following a recent water pollution episode that came right after a burst pipe incident in Air Selangor's Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plant Phase 1 (LRA SSP1), many disgruntled consumers had taken to social media to demand a discount on their bills.
Many cited the repeated water cuts for the demands.
During the press conference, Amirudin announced that 90 per cent of areas affected by the unscheduled water cut have had supply restored.
On Monday, Air Selangor issued a stop-work order on its Phase 1, 2, 3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants after suspected contamination was detected in Sungai Selangor.
The unscheduled water cut reportedly affected 1,196,457 accounts in 1,292 areas in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat.
