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AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF DENIAL, INDAH WATER FINALLY ADMITS INSISTS THAT THEY ARE NOT TO BLAME!
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This is the Reef, accused by someone of dumping waste directly into the sea. The management committee refutes this accusation.
The Reef apartment is located at Batu Ferringhi Penang, about 20 minutes drive from Georgetown. The Reef consists of 200 apartment units offers 2 types of design layout (2 & 3-bedroom). The built-up area ranging from 850 sq.ft. (2-bedroom) to 1,030 sq.ft. (3-bedroom).
http://www.apartment-penang.com/2009/03/reef-apartment.html
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Apartment management denies dumping waste
GEORGE TOWN (Feb 10, 2014): The management committee of a luxury apartment near Batu Ferringhi has refuted claims that untreated waste from the building goes directly into the sea.
The Reef management committee chairman Ronnison Paul said the septic tank system, servicing two 16-storey blocks of apartment units for 27 years, has been functioning properly all this while.
“It has been maintained and serviced regularly since 1987 and until now, no residents (have complained) about the system,” he told a press conference at the apartment yesterday.
Ronnison was refuting claims from a resident who alleged that sewage from the apartment was pumped into a drain, adding that the discharge could have contributed to the recently highlighted pollution at Batu Ferringhi beach.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/953611
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CONFIRMED! DEADLY E.COLI BACTERIA ARE IN THE WATERS OFF BATU FERRINGHI!
Star
10 February 2014| last updated at 12:29AM
Major E. coli contamination in Batu Ferringhi confirmed
Samples collected by the DoE last Tuesday had faecal coliform and e.coli readings at a staggering 16,000cfu (colony-forming unit)per 100ml. The numbers exceed the permissible 100mpn/100ml as per Class 2 of the Marine
Water Quality Criteria and Standards for a recreational beach (mpn: most probable number). (In microbiology, CFU is an estimate of viable bacterial or fungal numbers.)
However, the numbers had dropped drastically after a massive clean-up was carried out from Wednesday onwards.
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Top Tweet
Simon Thong Penang black sea of batu ferringhi. If IWK didn’t do it, who did? video: IWK discharging effluent http://weehingthong.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/pollution-in-batu-ferringhi-penang/ …
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The Blackening of the Sea:
It’s a real mystery worth of an Agatha Christie novel. Who did it?
Sundaily
Probe into Penang water pollution covers all nearby premises
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NST
7 February 2014| last updated at 08:36PM
IWK denies sewage causing pollution at Batu Ferringhi
GEORGE TOWN: Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) has denied claims that pollution in the sea off Batu Ferringhi Beach was caused by discharge from an IWK sewage plant in the vicinity.
Read more: IWK denies sewage causing pollution at Batu Ferringhi – Latest – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/iwk-denies-sewage-causing-pollution-at-batu-ferringhi-1.479123#ixzz2sdxjBb7B
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（檳城7日訊）英達麗水公司公關經理沙魯指出，峇都丁宜污水處理廠週二（4日）排出“污濁”的水，是因為該廠當時正進行維護工作，鬆開場內糞水分解池的一個閥，使骯髒物質流出20分鐘。
http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/497277
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NST
7 February 2014| last updated at 12:34AM
IWK plant abuzz with activity
BUSY DAY: Staff inspect pipe, collect sand samples
GEORGE TOWN: AFTER the uproar over the Batu Ferringhi beach and river pollution, there was a hive of activity at the Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) sewage treatment plant here, which has been identified as the main polluter of some parts of the famed tourist belt.
As early as 8am, 10 staff were seen getting in and out of the plant, which is about the size of a football field. A few tankers were seen entering and leaving the plant, 100m from the main road. A number of staff was spotted inspecting a pipe, originating from the plant, that spewed liquid into Sungai Batu Ferringhi.
The pipe has been identified as releasing a black substance, the contentious discharge that has been blamed for the river pollution.
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None of the IWK staff, when approached, was willing to talk about the nature of their work at the plant and whether they heeded the directive from state Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow that IWK immediately stop any discharge into the river to prevent further degradation of the waterway and beach.
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Chow said IWK needed to protect its public image and practise corporate social responsibility.
“The more they deny (responsibility), the worse it will be for them. I want action to be taken to address the problem. They need to do it quickly to restore public confidence.”
(From top) IWK workers at the Pantai Utara sewage treatment plant in Batu Ferringhi yesterday. After a while, they departed in a tanker. The NST photographer who followed them saw the workers drawing sewage into the tanker at a house in Bayan Lepas, 30km away. The tanker then returned to the plant, into which the sewage was pumped. Pix by Danial SaadRead more: IWK plant abuzz with activity – General – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/iwk-plant-abuzz-with-activity-1.478735#ixzz2sd46YlqY—
Free Malaysia Today
IWK admits to ‘black water’ fiasco
Indah Water Konsortium said the ‘black water’ flowing into the Batu Ferringhi beach front was caused by a loose valve and is not harmful.
GEORGE TOWN: The “black water” seen flowing from the Batu Ferringhi river into the sea is feared to have been caused by a loose valve at the nearby sewerage treatment plant.
National sewerage company Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd communications department senior manager Shahrul Nizam Sulaiman said the company had located a loose valve in the plant’s aeration tank.
“The water (effluent) is however safe to be released,” he stressed at a press conference after a media tour of the IWK plant located near the popular beachfront here today.
He said the discharge happened at 10am last Tuesday and lasted for about 20-minutes while maintenance works was being done.
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Pollution in Batu Ferringhi, Penang
One day, people were shocked to find the sea off Batu Ferringhi polluted.
There was a real concern especially when tests showed the presence of E.coli, bacteria that can cause serious infections, and could be lethal.
*E. coli Bacteria Infection Symptoms, Causes, Treatments – WebMD
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Malay Mail photo
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Malaysiakini
7:10PM Feb 5, 2014
Penang blames IWK for Batu Ferringhi pollution
Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK), allegedly responsible for the discharge of dark smelly effluents in Sungai Batu Ferringhi, will have to explain to the Penang executive council its plan to salvage the situation.
State Exco on local government and traffic management, Chow Kon Yeow, said IWK officers will be summoned to attend this Friday’s council meeting in Komtar.
He added that IWK had been identified as the main contributor to the problem which came to light in the media on Monday, sparking speculation that the discharge is contaminated with traces of the dangerous E. coli bacteria.
About 100 metres of the sea at Batu Ferringhi, a popular tourist spot, was tainted with a black and slimy discharge reportedly contaminated by sewage wastes, which probably also contains sediment from coastline erosion.
However, IWK has denied it was their mistake which caused the stinky discharge.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/253601
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Free Malaysia Today photo
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/02/06/black-river-in-batu-ferringhi/
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Free Malaysia Today
Pollution of Batu Ferringhi: Authorities get cracking
Penang municipal council to come down hard on culprits responsible for the unhealthy state of the river and beaches in the tourist belt.
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) and relevant authorities will take punitive action against those responsible for the river and sea pollution in Batu Ferringhi.
A statement from MPPP’s public relations department today said that the relevant authorities viewed the issue seriously and would not compromise on it.
It said that the departments of irrigation and drainage (DID) and environment (DOE) have already started investigations into the river and sea pollution in the tourist belt.
Local NGOs, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) highlighted the issue which was reported in FMT yesterday.
In an immediate site visit yesterday, MPPP and DID officials found that the mouth of Sungai Batu Ferringhi was heavily contaminated by black-coloured substance.
“The findings of investigations by DID and DOE will be made known in two weeks. This is a serious issue.
“Action will be taken by the relevant authorities according to their respective laws and jurisdiction,” said the MPPP statement.
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Sundaily
‘Dark waters’ poser at Sungai Batu Ferringhi
Last updated on 4 February 2014 – 11:09pm
GEORGE TOWN (Feb 4, 2014): Indah Water Consortium (IWK) has claimed that the “dark water” flowing into the Sungai Batu Ferringhi is not from their sewer pipe networks.
According to its statement, the treatment plant is in good operational condition.
“Further checks on the sewer pipe networks confirmed of no leakages. There could be other sources causing the pollution in the river and seas of Batu Ferringhi,” it said.
A check by theSun at 10am today showed that a black coloured-substance was flowing out from a metal pipe, believed to be connected to the IWK northern beach treatment facility, into the river and the sea.
Despite the pollution, tourists were seen relaxing by the beach.
Today, the State Environment Department (DOE) and state drainage and irrigation department (DID) personnel collected samples from five different spots along the river, the sea and at the metal pipe.
It is learnt that the DOE carries out periodic checks on treatment plants monthly.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/948327
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fz.com photo
Indah Water: Treatment plant not the cause of Batu Ferringhi pollution
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Inform | Coastal Carecoastalcare.org – 466 × 350 – Search by imageMajor Pollution And Erosion at Famous Beach, Malaysia · batu-ferringhi-beach-erosion. February 3rd, 2014
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weehingthong 
Hi,
Do you have any update of the pollution at Batu Ferringhi river and the beach?
Any authority declared that the beach is safe for the e-coli contamination?
My children and my friends children have been stayed away from the beach since the reports of pollution, it have been months that we not dare to visit the beach that we used to go every alternate weeks.
Can you please email me should you have any information as my kids are very anxious to go to the beach again. Thank you.
Rgds,
Les
lesleong88@gmail.com