Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) said high ammonia levels forced the Sungai Semenyih water-treatment plant near Kajang to be shut down at 8.30am on Saturday.

The affected areas were in Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang districts. The water-treatment plant, operated by Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd, also supplies water to Putrajaya.

According to Syabas, operations resumed at 4.30pm when the ammonia fell below the 1.2mg per litre danger level.

However, the reservoirs were expected to take five to eight hours to fill up. The situation should return to normal by this morning, said the water authority.

Saturday's incident was the second raw-water contamination case in Selangor this year.

The first occurred in February when high levels of ammonia in Sungai Selangor caused tap water in several areas in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley to smell of faeces. Syabas said in a statement yesterday the high ammonia content was caused by seepage from the Bukit Chembong landfill located near Bangi Lama.

It said the Department of Environment and municipal council had been informed of the matter.

The Star/Asia News Network

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia