PART A: READING COMPREHENSION
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
Across Malaysia, our rivers are the main source of tap water. Despite this, Malaysians are still throwing rubbish into the river. River pollution is a threat to safe drinking water in Malaysia. A recent dry spell caused water Selangor's Sungai Langat cannot be utilised for daily use as pollution caused ammoniacal nitrogen levels to rise above permissible levels. There are many ways to reduce the river pollution such as installing grease traps, maintaining septic tanks, and educating the public on the importance of having clean drains in the neighbourhood.
Most of the times, polluted rivers cannot be rehabilitated to their original and natural condition. Nevertheless, minimising drain pollution can be a cost-effective way to improve the condition of the rivers. One of the ways is by installing grease traps to capture oil, and these traps must be regularly maintained. Local authorities will have to carry out enforcement to combat illegal discharge of oil and grease into the sewerage system.
In addition, all septic tanks need to be maintained properly. According to the Malaysia Water Industry Guide 2013, there are 4,380 communal septic tanks and 1,298,207 individual septic tanks in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. In Selangor, more than 33,000 old individual septic tanks discharge partially-treated wastewater into drains. The septic tanks must be cleaned of any waste once every three years in order for the tanks to function effectively. If this is done periodically, the level of ammoniacal nitrogen in the river can be reduced significantly.
Lastly, the most important step to reduce river pollution is by educating the public on the importance of having clean drains in the neighbourhood. It will be meaningless to maintain the drains and septic tanks if the amount of pollutants entering drains is not reduced. The local authorities can organise campaigns and activities such as drain clean-ups to educate the public on this issue. All in all, the cleanliness of our rivers should not be ignored. The recent shortage of water
in Selangor and the water treatment plant being shut down show that an abundant resource of water can deplete too if we do not take proper care of our drains and rivers.
Installing grease traps, maintaining septic tanks, and educating the public on the importance of having clean drains in the neighbourhood are some of the ways that can be done to reduce river pollution. By minimising drain pollution and cleaning the septic tanks every three years can help minimise level of ammoniacal nitrogen in the river. Hopefully, the public will be able to be more aware of their wastes as well.
