DRINKING WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA
1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Clean water supply and quality is very important to safeguard public health and safety as well as a major thrust in national development. Clean water and quality is assessed from physical characteristics, chemical, biological, and radiological. Media, consumer associations, non-governmental bodies and the public have frequently highlighted poor water quality in the rural and urban areas in Malaysia. In relation to this, a study was conducted on drinking water quality management in the country to assess whether the planning, implementation and monitoring of drinking water quality has been managed properly, efficiently and effectively in accordance with the National Drinking Water Quality Standards set by the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
2. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
The scope of audit encompassed the planning, implementation and monitoring of drinking water. The sample included all the 13 states in Malaysia and covered 42 water treatment plants throughout the country. The audits involved scrutinising the documents, records, files and analysis of data at the state water supply entities; state water regulatory bodies; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water; National Water Services Commission; Department of Environment as well as Forestry Department. Physical visits are conducted to various water treatment plants and water quality sampling testing was carried out.
3. DRINKING WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT ISSUES
3.1 Water catchment forest and reservoirs areas are not gazetted
Gazetting the catchment areas is essential in ensuring a continuous and adequate sustainable supply of raw water in term of quality and quantity. It will set limits and types of activities allowed in the forest water catchment areas or part thereof to prevent the occurrence of any activity that may cause pollution and shortage of raw water resources. It was found that 11,301,465 out of 16,349,419.23 hectares area of permanent forest have yet to be gazetted. More than 80% of the reservoirs in the country are not gazetted. The State Forestry Department has to expedite the gazette of the water catchment forest whilst the state water regulatory bodies, Economic Planning Unit and Water Supply Entities must also identify and gazette water catchment areas and reservoirs.
3.2 Proper monitoring of catchment areas are not done
Several illegal activities such as farming, sand mining, factory discharge, livestock and garbage disposal were carried out at the dam and along the river basins. Such activities contributed to the decline in the quality of raw water affected by increased turbidity and aluminum content in the water. It is recommended that the conservation and monitoring of the catchment areas should be properly carried out by the Water Regulatory Affairs. Besides regulating the raw water, state water regulatory body must play its role as a coordinator between the entities involved.
3.3 Raw water royalty charges are not imposed and are varied
Several states have not charged royalties on raw water managed by the water treatment plants’ operators. For those states which have imposed the royalties, the rates charged are varied. A suitable method of calculation should be identified to ensure the raw water charges imposed are reasonable and will not burden the respective operators.
3.4 Poor management of the centralised laboratory and water treatment plant’s laboratory
It was observed that only a few centralised laboratories have a recognised accreditation either from the Malaysian Laboratory Accreditation Standard or International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). Apart from that, not all centralised laboratories are equipped with proper and complete testing equipments and abled to carry out tests for parameters I to IV. Most of the water treatment laboratories, particularly laboratories under the supervision of a government entity, the water quality testing was undertaken by those who did not have the required qualifications and accreditation as compared to those water treatment plants administered by the private sector. The relevant state water regulatory bodies should monitor the management of the centralised and water treatment plants laboratories.
3.5 No sludge treatment system at the water treatment plants
Several water treatment plants did not have sludge treatment system. As a result, the sludge which is formed during the water treatment process is released directly into the downstream river. This has polluted the river water which is a source of raw water. In accordance with the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and to ensure the quality of the surrounding environment protected, all operators of water supply facilities must ensure the sediment/ sludge or waste generated from the water treatment plant is managed in accordance with the environmental regulations in force.
3.6 The fluoridation systems are not functioning.
About 36% of the fluoridation systems of the water treatment plants were functioning. Among the issues raised by the operators are the range of the content between 0.4 mg / ℓ - 0.6 mg / ℓ is difficult to achieve, insufficient annual allocation to support operating costs and an increase of purchasing cost and the problem of supplying the fluoride. A resolution should be made by all authorities to resolve the issue of the use of fluoride in treated water.
3.7 No standardised programme for cleaning the water tanks
The study found that there is no standardised programme for cleaning the water tanks. The state water entities carried out either on a schedular basis, when necessary or none at all. Among the reasons given by the entities include the problems of constrained budget and the possibility that cleaning of water tanks and pipes will cause disruption of water supply to the consumers. The relevant authorities should formulate a standard programme for cleaning the water tanks and pipes to ensure the quality of drinking water.
3.8 The management of sampling stations is unsatisfactory
Sampling stations are essential to monitor the quality of water supplied. Study visits to several sampling stations found that the sampling station is not built according to specification, the station is not well maintained, the equipment in the stations are damaged, the hydrant pipes in the mosques, shops and houses are utilised as sampling stations and stations that did not have a code designation. Immediate corrective action to the management of sampling stations should be taken by the water supply entities.
3.9. Water quality and sterillization testing are not conducted
Several water supply entities did not carry out water quality and sterilization testing. Among the required tests are pressure and leak test, run flushing and de-bacteria water quality tests. It is necessary that each procedure for quality testing and sterilization testing be fully complied.
4. CONCLUSION
The analysis based on the consumer satisfaction on the quality of water supplied by the state water entities indicated that on the whole, the average level of consumer satisfaction is satisfactory. This survey is supported by the level of drinking water quality performance based on Quality Assurance Programme which showed that only 4 out of 13 states is unsatisfactory. Concerted efforts should be made to increase the level of consumer satisfaction to good.
Based on this drinking water management study, various relevant authorities are taking actions on the aspects of enforcement, conservation and monitoring of drinking water quality. In term of environmental benefit, this study has created greater awareness, understanding and recognition among the state water supply entities and environmental authorities on the importance of conserving the water sources to safeguard the nation’s drinking water supply and to address water pollution issues.