Surface runoff muddies Sg Gombak

29 May 2014| last updated at 11:52PM

KUALA LUMPUR: ONE million residents in Wangsa Maju may face a water crisis soon if two developers do not stop illegal earthworks on their land.

The clearing of land on a Class Three hill slope has resulted in the pollution of Sungai Gombak.

The river supplies water to the Wangsa Maju treatment plant.

Due to land clearing, muddy surface run-off is flowing into Sungai Lalang and Sungai Salak. These two tributaries flow into Sungai Gombak, turning it muddy.

This had led to the closure of the Wangsa Maju water treatment plant from March 3 to May 13.

The plant supplies water to close to one million residents in the area.

Luckily for the residents, their water supply was not disrupted as they were getting water from the Klang Gate Dam.

Gombak District and Land Office district officer Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan said the Wangsa Maju treatment plant will need to be closed again if there are more downpours.

"If the hill slope is not rectified, then Sungai Gombak will continue to be polluted and the water treatment plant will not be able to process the water from the river," he said.

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Surface runoff muddies Sg Gombak