We use a lot of water in our everyday life, both for household and industrial purposes. Apart from drinking, we use water for nearly every other thing from preparing food to brushing teeth, washing clothes and dishes, bathing and a long list of industrial uses. We cannot survive without water. Period.

Wastewater treatment is serious business

Now, have you ever wondered where does the wastewater from our toilets, bathrooms and kitchens go? Of course we cannot let it go straight back into the environment untreated. So, how does it get treated properly then? It involves a lot of hard work combining science and engineering, purpose-built treatment plants that require heavy infrastructure support and many other resources at hand while doing the best to protect the environment and public health.

So, wastewater treatment is no walk in the park. It is serious business! It has to go through a complex path beginning with the pretreatment, followed by primary and secondary treatment, and additional advanced processes. The treatment usually involves physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove pollutants from wastewater, in which the treated effluent has to meet the regulatory requirements set forth by our Department of Environment under the Ministry of Environment And Water - before discharging it into any receiving waterbody.

Harmful materials in wastewater

Wastewater, literally means the used water, comes from a variety of sources, including domestic (homes), commercial (businesses), industrial (factories), healthcare (hospitals), mining and agricultural sewage, plus construction, automotive garages, laboratories and even stormwater, meltwater and rainwater runoff. The constituents that are present in wastewater may include a number of harmful substances originating from human waste, food waste, oil and grease, heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, silver and zinc, and toxic chemicals from household products such as shampoo, shower gel, detergents and bleaching agents, together with pathogens and pesticides, and the list goes on.

Wastewater, if left untreated, can be toxic, corrosive, reactive, acidic and ignitable, which impacts not only the bio-ecology through water contamination and soil degradation where high amounts of heavy metals are present, but also the public health when water sources are contaminated with cancer-causing pollutants.

Treating wastewater a vital task

Waterbodies such as rivers, lakes and oceans, being the major carrier or depository of both the untreated and treated water, hold the key to the health and wellbeing of plants, animals and humans. Therefore, to prevent serious environmental and health problems, wastewater must undergo treatment before being reused or redirected into any waterbody or water supply. And we need a dedicated outfit to carry out the vital task. This is where Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) comes into the picture.

Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd

Entrusted with the mandate of developing and maintaining a modern and efficient sewerage system for the nation, IWK holds a mission-critical role in ensuring Malaysians today and in the future get to enjoy a clean and healthy environment through the quality of water it discharges through its treatment plants.

So, be it the old-fashioned septic systems in the rural areas or the modernised network of pipes and pumping stations that conveys sewage from its points of origin to the treatment plants for water treatment in a controlled environment, IWK is able to churn out treated effluent fit for certain uses especially non-potable industrial applications.

Wastewater treatment that removes contaminants or reduces the concentration of undesirable components allows the treated effluent to be safely returned to the environment - is crucial to human health while safeguarding the integrity of our ecosystem. To prevent raw sewage from going straight into rivers and oceans, wastewater treatment facilities must be able to remove the majority of harmful substances prior to its effluent discharge into the environment.

Working round the clock for the whole nation

IWK, which works round the clock while you sleep, however, is finding it financially challenging in the middle of the ever rising wastewater treatment costs against the growing demand for treated water of better quality. According to a news report, IWK CEO, Narendran Maniam was quoted to explain that the electricity cost alone has ballooned up tenfold from RM22.52 million in 2000 to RM256.3 million in 2020. Even finding new ways to reduce treatment costs is another challenge that requires further investment.

However, IWK, whose service concession has just been extended for another 12 years until the end of 2034 by the Ministry of Environment and Water, is able to explore non-tariff based activities to supplement the company’s financial shortfall. IWK had explored water recycling initiatives in March 2021 when the national sewerage company entered into a joint-venture with Pengurusan Air Selangor to develop the water reclamation plant initiative as a second tap for non-potable use.

Regular maintenance and upgrading

To achieve this, we need an effective and reliable wastewater treatment system all the time, which means regular maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure, using advanced technologies with high levels of technical know-how through specialised facilities and manpower.

IWK currently manages more than 7,000 sewage treatment plants and sewerage pipes stretching some 22,000 km long in total. The national sewage management company is also tasked with maintaining some 1.3 million individual septic tanks and more than 800,000 traditional toilet tanks nationwide.

Managing the country’s sewerage systems and assets rests a heavy responsibility on IWK’s shoulders to ensure all the sewerage assets (including the old ones) operate optimally despite tariffs for its sewerage services have never been reviewed or adjusted against rising operating costs for the past 27 years since its inception in 1994.

Financial, operational and environmental sustainability

The average monthly maintenance cost of the sewerage system for connected systems for residential premises is about RM18 per household, yet the current tariffs stand at a range of between RM2 and RM8 – offering among the lowest tariffs in the world without inflation adjustment since day one for such an important service.

A study conducted shows that the review of sewerage service tariffs should be carefully considered to offset the cost of maintaining old assets, the increase in electricity tariffs and the emergence of new and complex threats of environmental crime.

As such, beginning 9 November to 23 November 2021, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) will open an online survey for the public to send in feedbacks on the proposed IWK’s tariff adjustment.

The public is encouraged to participate and adopt an objective view, especially as it regards environmental sustainability so that our future generation can enjoy this gift too.

You can visit the site https://apps.span.gov.my/rundingan_awam/pembetungan to participate.