Septic Tank Desludging Compliance Remains Low At 12 Pct - SPAN

GEORGE TOWN, April 28 (Bernama) -- Septic tank desludging compliance stood at only about 12 per cent last year, said National Water Services Commission (SPAN) Operations Division executive director Lieutenant Colonel Mohd Jalaludin Sulaiman.

He said the figure is significantly lower compared with the more than 1.38 million septic tanks in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan.

He said the situation indicates that many premises owners have failed to carry out regular maintenance responsibilities, despite it being mandatory to ensure the proper functioning of the sewerage system and to avoid environmental impact.

“For areas under local authorities (PBTs), septic tanks must be desludged every two years, while outside such areas the maximum allowed period is three years.

“However, when we conduct monitoring, most claim they are unaware, even though Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) has issued notices along with our (SPAN) flyers outlining the offences and penalties,” he said at a press conference here today.

Mohd Jalaludin said this after leading a spot check with IWK at several premises around Jalan Kelawei that were identified as having failed to carry out scheduled septic tank desludging.

The three-day operation, which began today and runs until Thursday, involves nearly 205 commercial, industrial and domestic premises across Penang, with 56 notices issued today alone.

He said the operation also includes inspections in several other areas throughout Penang, with a focus on premises identified as high-risk and those that had previously received notices.

“In Penang alone, there are 15,049 septic tanks, but the compliance rate is only about 18 per cent,” he said.

Elaborating further, Mohd Jalaludin said premises owners have 14 days to contact IWK to carry out desludging works on their septic tanks, failing which enforcement action will be taken.

He said failure to desludge septic tanks regularly could result in sewage overflow, which may contaminate drainage systems, rivers and the sea, in addition to posing risks to public health.

He added that SPAN, in collaboration with IWK, will continue operations and monitoring from time to time to improve compliance nationwide, while raising public awareness so that premises owners take greater responsibility for their sewerage systems.

-- BERNAMA