Thus far, at least three parties have given three separate reasons for the cause of stinking water being piped into homes in the Klang Valley. This begs the question: Who's telling the truth?

When complaints of tap water smelling like sewage started flooding newsrooms last week, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) explained the situation was caused by excessive ammonia content in Sungai Selangor and the chlorine added to neutralise it.

Following this, state infrastructure and public utilities committee chairperson Abdul Fatah Iskandar said water samples taken on Feb 26 revealed that pig and cattle farms, as well as effluents from factories, were to blame.

But yesterday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Azmi Khalid insisted that the Bukit Tagar landfill in Rawang was the culprit, based on a report by the Department of Environment.

The DOE's report claims that seepage from the landfill alone caused ammonia levels in the water to rise, and not pig farms or other activities along the river

Contradicting themselves

Consumer Association of Subang and Shah Alam president Dr Jacob George said the three different theories offered by the various government bodies showed that there were problems with the present system.

"It is a very embarrassing situation. How are people suppose to trust government agencies if they contradict themselves like this?" he said when contacted.

Based on feedback from the public, George said that many have expressed shock and disappointment over the differing reasons for the water problem.

He urged the government to table a White Paper on the matter to pinpoint the source of the problem.

George also lamented the lack of proper monitoring and planning of development projects which have resulted in numerous effluent-spewing factories sprouting along Sungai Selangor.

Apologise to people

In a related development, Selangor's PAS Youth wing has demanded that the state government suspend the water concession agreement with Syabas and conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

Its leader, Ramli Sidom, said such an investigation was needed in view of the allegation that pig farms located along Sungai Selangor were responsible for the water contamination.

A three-page memorandum from PAS Youth Selangor on the matter was submitted to Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir Mohd Toyo's office in Shah Alam this afternoon.

In the memorandum, Ramli requested that Khir apologise to all residents in Selangor for the debacle and not approve the 15 percent hike in water tariffs as sought by Syabas.