JoeBlack
Visitor
|
High level of E.coli in six rivers - 2005/06/29 22:39
Taken from The New Straits Times Online
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/20050623082004/
Article/indexb_html
High level of E.coli in six rivers
M. Husairy Othman
CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Wed:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
The rivers in the Upper Bertam catchment area have been found to be severely contaminated, forming a bio-hazard requiring extensive treatment before human consumption.
The waters of the Bertam, Burong, Ruil, Jasar, Ulung and Batu Pipih rivers, which flow from Gunung Brinchang to the Ringlet reservoir, have high levels of E.coli bacteria, mostly from insufficiently treated sewage and extensive use of chicken manure for vegetable farming, according to the findings of a Dutch laboratory.
Water from Ringlet is not processed for human consumption, but released into the Pahang river.
"High levels of E. coli were found in all these samples and in levels that often were too high to count," said Antony van der Ent, of the Waterschap Rivierenland (WSRL) laboratory.
Van der Ent was presenting a paper on the river water quality of the Upper Bertam catchment here today.
He said the levels of E.coli in these rivers were unacceptable and exceeded the levels permitted by the the World Health Organisation.
HIDDEN DANGER:The water in Sungai Jasar looks crystal clear but it is polluted
This organic pollution, van der Ent said, also caused severe micro-biological contamination with bacteria and viruses which can cause diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and other infections.
"Sewage, by far, is the biggest pollutant and due to the lack of appropriate sewage treatment systems, almost all the sewage discharged is raw," he said during the seminar organised by Regional Environmental Awareness of Cameron Highlands (Reach).
Van der Ent and co-researcher Chantal Termeer had embarked on this five-month project as part of their thesis for Saxion Deventer University.
Their study also revealed that excessive usage of pesticides and fertilisers had resulted in several of these rivers being biologically dead.
"The presence of measurable pesticide levels in rivers is highly undesirable, but the presence of banned pesticides in rivers is totally unacceptable," Van der Ent said.
He pointed out an example of DDT, a banned pesticide, being detected near the Sungai Burong drinking water intake in April, at concentrations of 1,920 microgrammes per litre, almost 20,000 times higher than the permissible level.
Their report, however, stated there was still hope for Sungai Bertam should rehabilitative measures be taken.
These include centralised sewage treatment facilities for domestic waste water, adopting best agricultural practices and the strict enforcement of laws.
Meanwhile, traces of E. coli have been found in the treated water supply to several houses in Tanah Rata and Brinchang here, according to REACH president R. Ramakrishnan.
He said the water supplied to these houses came from rivers in the Upper Bertam area.
He said the traces are to miniscule to be life-threatening but could affect children under 5 and people over 55 because they have lower immunity levels.
|
Forums