KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — If we were to lay down the entirety of peninsular Malaysia’s sewerage pipes in a straight line, its length would connect Cape Town in South Africa to Magadan in Russia.
What’s even more impressive is that this network of pipes — roughly 22,000km of sewer lines in total — is solely maintained by national sewerage operator Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK).
“IWK provides sewerage services to a connected population equivalent (cPE) of more than 29 million; operating and maintaining a total of 7,600 public sewage treatment plants (STP) and1,506 network pump stations.
“Since IWK’s inception in 1994, the network of sewerage pipelines under the care of IWK has increased from 2,317km to close to 22,000km, a tenfold increase.
“The number of STPs has also increased from 1,043 to around 7,600; while the number of pump stations has increased from 73 to more than 1,500, a whopping increase of 18 times,” IWK chief executive Narendran Maniam told Malay Mail in an interview recently.
To put things into perspective, Narendran said IWK treats and releases an estimated 7,035 million litres per day (MLD) of treated sewage effluent from STPs across Malaysia daily, equivalent to 2,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“In Klang Valley alone, IWK treats and releases around 3,665 MLD of treated effluent from a total of 1,988 STPs daily,” Narendran said of the metropolitan region that is home to roughly 8.8 million people.
Prior to 1994, sewerage services were under the responsibility of local authorities.
Then the federal government decided to award the concession for nationwide wastewater and sanitation to IWK; it is now a government-owned entity via the Minister of Finance (Incorporated).
The company serviced a cPE of more than 31.27 million spanning 81,954 square kilometres in coverage area as of December 2023, based on IWK’s Sustainability Report of that year.
From yesteryear’s necessity to today’s accomplishment
Historically, the country’s sewerage system was developed in phases.
Before independence in 1957, latrines were outdoors and mainly the pour-flush method.
After the formation of Malaysia, the government began introducing various sewerage systems such as individual and communal septic tanks, Imhoff tanks, oxidation ponds and mechanical connected systems with the goal of improving public health and sanitation.
One of the oldest and significant is the Pantai Dalam STP, which predates Malaysia’s formation.
Established in the late 1950s as an open-air oxidation pond in Lembah Pantai to accommodate Kuala Lumpur’s rapid transition from a tin mining town to a major city.
“Naturally, there would be a gradual increase in sewage generation, with population growth and urban development in Klang Valley.
“With higher residential, commercial and industrial activities, this will contribute to a growing cPE leading to increased volumes of wastewater that requires effective treatment and management,” Narendran said.
A second Regional STP — Pantai 2 — was constructed between 1970s to the 1980s by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on the same site with six oxidation ponds over 17 hectares of land area to address rising sanitation needs driven by urbanisation and population growth.
Three decades later, Kuala Lumpur’s population boomed, leading to rapid development of housing settlements being built near the oxidation ponds, prompting the federal government to adopt new state-of-the-art mechanised regional STP.
At present, the Pantai Dalam Regional STP — where the main STP is built underground while the sludge treatment facility is above the ground level — located adjacent to the New Pantai Expressway also includes 12 hectares of above ground public amenities.
It is known to be the largest of its kind in South-east Asia.
“Over the years, both plants have undergone upgrades to increase its capacity and adopt advanced treatment technologies, enabling them to efficiently manage higher volumes of wastewater.
“Today, they serve a cPE of 1.43 million, covering areas from Cheras, Kepong, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, to Wangsa Maju, Petaling Jaya and beyond,” Narendran said.
