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ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY SCHEME FOR KUALA LUMPUR

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KLIA), SEPANG, SELANGOR.
By

Ir. Dr. Hasnul M Salleh
1
, Ir Teo Koon Hau
2
Ir and Zulkiflee Abd Hamid
3


Keywords: Off river storage, intake works, river gate, pumping station, reservoir,
diversion culvert, outlet work, spillway and draw off tower

1.0 Background

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is located about 50km from the capital city
of Kuala Lumpur and about 25km from the Administrative Capital of Putrajaya. At
present, the water supply to KLIA is provided solely by Sungai Semenyih water
treatment plant (WTP), which in the past has experienced failure that leads to
disruption of water supply for 3 days.

In view of the importance and sensitivity of KLIA, the Government of Malaysia has
implemented a project as an alternative water supply system to KLIA to mitigate the
risk of water supply disruption to KLIA, which will have detrimental effects on the
Countrys image, political aspect and economical aspect. This project is to optimize
storm water as an alternative to conventional raw water source ie either direct
abstraction from the river or from the dam and reservoir.

The main objective of this project is aimed at sourcing new water supply to cater for
KLIAs demand. However, the water demand of KLIA surrounding area is also being
studied, so that, the spare supply from the source can be channeled to the
surrounding areas. The surrounding areas of KLIA being studied are the districts of
Kuala Langat and Sepang. This is because the Semenyih WTP is already operating
at its maximum capacity and the proposed Langat II WTP with raw water from
Pahang will not be operational until at least Jun 2014. As such, any additional source
will provide relief to the Semenyih WTP.


1
Director General , Water Supply Department, Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water
(Superintending Officer of Project)
2
Senior Engineer, SMHB, Sdn. Bhd.
3
Director, SMHB, Sdn. Bhd.
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2.0 Demand Projection for Kuala Langat and Sepang Districts

Demand projections for the Kuala Langat and Sepang districts are based on
available existing study reports.

The details of the demand projections from Langat 2 study report for the districts of
Kuala Langat and Sepang are as summarized below:

Year Demand (Mld)
Kuala Langat Sepang Total
2010 135 195 330
2020 201 323 524
Langat II: Preliminary Engineering Design Report for Langat II Scheme: KDEB (March 2005)

The main source of supply to Kuala Langat and Sepang districts is the Semenyih
Plant. Other sources supplying the districts are listed below:

District Source Supply (Mld)
Kuala Langat Bkt. Tampoi
Sg. Selangor Bukit Badong
32
18
Sepang Salak Tinggi 11
Note: Salak Tinggi WTP presently producing 4-5 Mld only.

Assuming that the above plants will continue to supply water at the same quantum to
Kuala Langat and Sepang Districts, the balance of water required from the existing
Sg. Semenyih plant can be summarized as follows:

District Year Increase in
Demand 2010 2020
Kuala Langat 85 151 66
Sepang 184 312 128
TOTAL 269 463 194

Currently the Semenyih WTP is supplying close to 260 Mld to Kuala Langat and
Sepang Districts. However, it is important to note that the existing Sg. Semenyih
WTP is already operating near its maximum capacity of 636 Mld (140 mgd). This
plant can only be expected to support increasing water demands in Kuala Langat and
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Sepang if it is relieved of its role in serving other areas such as the districts of
Petaling and Hulu Langat in a timely manner.

Significant relief for the Sg. Semenyih water treatment plant is only expected on
completion of the ongoing Langat 2 works which is expected to be able to deliver
treated water to the existing Bukit Dengkil reservoirs in late 2014 due to the delay in
the Pahang-Selangor Interstate raw water transfer project. It is envisaged that
Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will experience
water shortages that are expected to progressively worsen until 2014.

Partial relief for the Sg Semenyih plant in the short term from the existing Sg.
Selangor plants is also doubtful since supply available from the Sg Selangor WTPs is
extremely limited and needs to be distributed to other demand centres as well. It is
therefore evident that the Sg. Semenyih water treatment plant will be considerably
water stressed in the medium term until 2014 with water demands in demand centres
served or to be served by this plant exceeding supply available as early as 2011
onwards. Hence, it is extremely vital that a new source be developed urgently to
provide strategic support in this area and therefore not only be confined to supporting
KLIA water demands.

The increase in demand for Sepang and Kuala Langat area up to year 2014 is
estimated to be in the range of 100 Mld, half of that estimated for year 2010 to year
2020. A new source capable to cater for this increased demand will also enable the
Sg Semenyih plant to be relieved of supply to Salak Tinggi. In so doing, the Sg
Semenyih water treatment plant will have additional water that will prove valuable in
ensuring reliable supply for critical demand centres such as Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.

3.0 Alternative Supply Options

A feasibility study for the KLIAs alternative water supply scheme was conducted in
May 2009. A total of ten alternative schemes are considered in the feasibility study
and the findings are summarized as below:

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Options Studied Remarks
1. Interlinking of existing
mains and reservoirs from
Semenyih System
Semenyih WTP already at maximum capacity.
Pipeline along same corridor can be severed in
the event of another landslide along pipe corridor.
Very long pipeline needed plus land acquisition if
new pipeline laid from balancing reservoir.

2. Supply from Langat System WTP already on overload and supply areas have
to be augmented from Sg. Selangor System
3. Supply from Sg. Selangor
System
Requires a Booster Pumping Station and 55km of
pipeline and supply is reaching full capacity soon.
4. Ground water Based on JICA study, yield about 45 Mld for Kuala
Langat. Bulk of it taken by Megasteel. Very limited
potential. Proposed additional supply by
Megasteel for expansion is from Sg. Langat with
mining pond. Further investigation will take
sometime and may come to same conclusion as
JICA Study
5. New WTP at Paya Indah
Wetlands
Potential for upto 300 Mld. Potential strong
objection from NGOs and surrounding properties if
ground water table is lowered too much.
6. New WTP and Supply from
Putrajaya Lake
Potential for 50 Mld yield from 34km
2
catchment.
Will likely face objection from Putrajaya
Corporation.
7. Direct Pumping from Sg.
Langat
Water highly polluted. Have shutdown in the past
due to high ammonia. LUAS may impose 10%
average daily flow (ADF) as compensation slow
downstream. Yield will not be adequate for this
scenario.
8. Supply from Negeri
Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan facing water shortage in that
area. No potential.
9. Supply from Bernam
Scheme
Require a dam, diversion canal and approximate
100km of pipeline. Potential yield of 868 Mld. This
scheme is too far and too big to be considered a
practical option to be implemented in 2 years with
interstate agreement on tariff and other issues to
be sorted out.

10. Supply from Sg. Labu with
off-river storage
ADF 400-500 Mld depending on position of
intake. Dry weather flow cannot sustain existing
Salak Tinggi intake. Storage needed for
regulation. Potential yield upto 105 Mld.


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4.0 The Proposed Scheme

Each of the alternative supply options were analysed thoroughly with regard to
several key factors such as quantum of supply, time required for implementation,
costs (in particular economy of scale) and environmental impact. Sg. Labu Off-river
Storage Scheme is recommended as the best alternative source of supply for KLIA
due to its vicinity, yield potential and economical cost.


The yield potential of 105 Mld is sufficient to cater for the demand increase of about
100 Mld in Sepang and Kuala Langat Districts up to year 2014 before the proposed
Langat 2 WTP is operational as described in Section 2.0 above.

The existing Salak Tinggi WTP draws its supply from Sungai Labu and has a design
capacity of 10.1 Mld. It is possible to consider increased abstractions from this river
but an off river storage will be required to improve the reliability and quantum of water
that can be made available for KLIA and its surrounding area.

The location plan of the scheme is shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Location Plan of Sungai Labu ORS Scheme

In general, the proposed scheme will comprise of the following component of works:-

i) A river gate across Sungai Labu to maintain a minimum submergence required
for the abstraction at the intake.

ii) An intake structure and a 140 Mld capacity raw water pumping station to
transfer the raw water to the off-river storage reservoir.

iii) Approximately 1.2km of 1200mm diameter mild steel pipe to convey the raw
water from intake to the off-river storage reservoir.

iv) A 37m high and 800m long center claycore earthfilled dam and three (3)
numbers of saddle dam to obtain the required 9 MCM active storage. The
impounding reservoir will secure a realiable yield of 105 Mld for the treatment
plant.

ORS SITE
LOCATION
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v) A 105 Mld capacity treatment plant to be implemented in a separate contract
by Pengurusan Asset Air Berhad (PAAB).

The general layout of the Scheme is shown in Figure 2.






















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Figure 3: Aerial View of Intake Works and ORS During Construction

4.1 Design Concept

The total catchment area at the proposed intake is about 185 km
2
with Sungai
Chinchang catchment contributing 85 km
2
. The average daily flow (ADF) in Sungai
Labu at the proposed intake is approximately 406 million liters per day (Mld).
However, its dry weather flow cannot sustain the existing Salak Tinggi intake of 10.9
Mld eventhough the flow is estimated at 40-50 Mld due to the lack of weir across the
river and also to allow for compensation flow past the intake. Therefore, storage is
needed for regulation.

A spreadsheet simulation model for water accounting was prepared to validate
different intake and storage pond sizes and to obtain the reliable yield and intake
pump capacity. Basically, the simulation is a water balance computation. A
compensation flow amounting to 38.4 Mld (10% of the ADF) was allowed in the
simulation i.e. there is no abstraction from the river when flows drop below 40 Mld. In
addition, because monthly data are used, it is assumed that abstraction is only 90%
of available flow. A further 5% is allowed for treatment plant loss. Based on the
simulation result, the estimated yield for a 9 million cubic meter (MCM) storage is
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approximately 105 Mld. The live storage of 9 MCM is about the maximum possible
from the proposed site. The yield storage curve is shown in Figure 4.


Figure 4: Yield-Storage Curve
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The intake is proposed at about 1.6 km downstream of the confluence between
Sungai Labu and Sungai Chinchang as shown in Figure 2. A river gate will be built
across Sungai Labu further downstream of the intake to maintain the water level for
raw water abstraction. Raw water will be pumped directly into the off-river storage
reservoir through a 1200mm diameter (dia.) mild steel (MS) pipe.

The intake and raw water pumping station is size to a capacity of 140 Mld, which is
33% bigger than the design capacity of the treatment plant. The intake plant is
capable to run overload up to 175 Mld if necessary. The bigger intake capacity will
allow higher pumping during the wet months to take advantage of the higher flow and
storm water available in the river. This is needed because in the dry season, flow in
Sungai Labu will not be sufficient for abstraction.

The live storage capacity of the ORS of 9 MCM is about 86 days storage for a 105
Mld treatment plant. The off-river storage is also required in order to cope with
potential pollution spells, during which the abstraction from Sungai Labu will have to
cease.

With the ORS incorporated into this scheme, it is evident that the proposed storage is
more than adequate to support the proposed abstraction of 105 Mld with water levels
being drawn down to its lowest equivalent capacity of 0.5 MCM only once over the
entire 50 year simulation period. This drawdown is a result of the extreme drought in
1975 that has been incorporated into the analysis.

The ORS also enable the scheme to cope with the pollution episodes at Sungai
Labu, as the longest spell of pollution experienced to date is about 40 days and the
storage in the ORS of 9 MCM is about 86 days storage which is more than sufficient
to enable the WTP to produce 105 Mld continuously without abstraction of water from
the river.

The ORS dam site has been identified near the confluence of Sungai Chinchang and
Sungai Labu. The proposed embankment dam is approximately 37m high and
approximately 800m long. The impounding area is around 0.5 square kilometers or
50 hectares, most of which are oil palm plantation and secondary jungle. The project
site topography indicates that three (3) numbers of saddle dams are required
southwards of the main dam, as shown in Figure 2. The total embankment fill
volume is about 2.0 MCM. The earthfill material will be sourced from within the
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reservoir by cutting the reservoir perimeter slope to 1 in 3 below the full supply level
of 45m.

5.0 Environmental Impact and Land Acquisition

Based on an impounded area of only 50 Ha of private land involving mainly oil palm
cultivation and some secondary jungle and no settlements, the project do not require
an EIA study. Based on the Department of Environments requirements only project
with impoundment of more than 200 Ha requires and EIA study. Even though EIA
study is not required a brief assessment of environmental impact was incorporated in
the Environmental Management Plan.

The findings of field survey showed that none of the flora and fauna encountered
within the project site are rare, threatened or endemic.

There are no settlements within the project site and hence no resettlement issues
arise from the project. The proposed limit of land acquisition has been submitted to
the State Land Office to initiate the land acquisition process; this will ensure that
construction works can proceed as planned. As shown in the table below about 84.2
hectare of land areas were acquired from private owners for the construction of the
Project.

Sungai Labu ORS
Scheme
Private Land
(ha)
State Land
(ha)
No. of
Lots
Landuse
Raw Water Intake
and Pumping Station
- 3.149 - Oil palm plantation, small fruit
orchard and dog training centre

Off-River Storage
Reservoir
84.229 - 26 Oil palm plantation and fruit
orchard


5.1 Intake Works

5.1.1 General

The Intake Works for the KLIA Water Supply Scheme consists of a river gate, a river
intake chamber, 2 nos. 1.05m dia. pipeline, a 140 million litres per day (Mld) raw
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water intake pumping station, and buildings such as TNB Sub-Station and Consumer
Swithroom, Switch House, Staff Quarters, Transformer Yard and Guard House.

The proposed Intake Works are located approximately 11.3 km upstream of Sungai
Labus confluence with Sungai Langat. The site commands a catchment area of
approximately 185 km
2
, and is located 1.6 km downstream of Sungai Labus
confluence with Sungai Chinchang. Please refer to Figure 5 for the Intake Works
layout.

Figure 5: Layout Plan of Intake Works
Rivergate
Pumping
Station
Staff
Quarters
Switch House
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Figure 6: Aerial Photograph of the Intake Works

5.1.2 River Gate

A river gate will be built across Sungai Labu further downstream of the intake to
maintain the water level for raw water abstraction. The proposed river gate consists
of a 4 bay 4.6m width x 1.5m high and a 1 bay 1m width x 1.5m high opening gated
structure. The river gate will be a reinforced concrete structure and constructed in the
central section of Sungai Labu. The proposed river gate is shown in Figure 7.


Figure 7: Photo of the proposed River Gate Structure (Looking Upstream)
Pumping
Station
Switch House
Staff
Quarters
Rivergate
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The design of the river gate will ensure that sufficient environmental flow will be
released through the gate during drought to ensure the sustainability of the
ecosystems downstream of the proposed river gate. From the hydrological
assessment done, the environmental flow was estimated at approximately 38.4 Mld
(0.44 m
3
/s).

The river gate will be operated under 2 operational modes as follows:

Mode 1: Normal/Flood Operation

When water levels upstream of the river gate is above RL 6.7m, all gates are
opened. Water levels in river is favourable for abstraction.

Mode 2: Drought Operation

When water levels upstream of the river gate is below RL 6.7m, all gates are closed
except for the small gate (1m x 1.5m) to allow compensation release. Water will back
up water levels to a maximum of RL 6.7m upstream of gate to allow abstraction.

5.1.3 Raw Water Intake Pumping Station

The proposed raw water intake and pumping station is located on the right bank of
Sungai Labu approximately 1.6 km downstream of the confluence of Sungai Labu
with Sungai Chincang. It consists of 2 horizontal inlet pipes of 1.05 m diameter
leading into the raw water pumping station grit chamber. The raw water pumping
station platform levels will follow the proposed Sungai Labu flood bund level as
recommended in the Sungai Langat IRBM Study to allow for future flood bund
connection. The proposed plan and sections of the raw water intake pumping station
is shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9.

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Figure 8: Plan of Intake Pumping Station



Figure 9: Cross Section of Intake Pumping Station

The deciding factors for abstraction are the water level in the river and its water
quality. When water levels are favourable, abstraction will commence, and this will
continue unless if the water quality in the river deteriorates. There are two (2) river
monitoring stations that will be established to detect pollution in the river. These
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stations will monitor and warn the operators if pollution levels in the river are beyond
the permitted levels.

The normal abstraction rate is 140 Mld. However, the abstraction can be increased to
a maximum of 175 Mld, if conditions are found to be favorable and if there is a need
for it. No abstraction will be done, if the flow in the river is less than the compensation
flow requirements. Raw water will be pumped directly into the ORS reservoir through
a 1200mm diameter (dia.) mild steel (MS) pipe. The 9 MCM active storage of the
ORS is meant as a buffer and will enable up to an approximately 3-month supply to
the proposed treatment works of 105 Mld capacity without replenishment, if
abstraction is not favorable in Sg. Labu. This ensures that the project is viable and
guarantees the supply to the KLIA reservoirs.

5.2 Off River Storage Reservoir
5.2.1 General

An off-river storage site has been identified approximately 1km south of the
proposed intake. The reservoir site is mainly occupied by oil palms and secondary
jungle. A 37m high, 800m length earthfill embankment dam will provide an active
storage of 9 million cubic meters (MCM) with a reservoir surface area of around 50
hectares. The storage capacity is about 86 days storage for a 105 Mld treatment
plant.

The project site topography indicates that three (3) numbers of saddle dams are
required southwards of the main dam, as shown in Figure 10. In order to maximize
the storage volume, the reservoir perimeter slope will be cut to 1 in 3 slope below full
supply level of 45m LSD.









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Figure 10: Off-River Storage Reservoir



Figure 11: Aerial Photo of ORS

The elevation/area/storage curves have been derived from detailed ground survey of
the impounding reservoir with 2.0 m contour intervals. The curves are shown on
Figure 12.
Main Dam
Saddle Dam C
Saddle Dam B
Saddle Dam A
Spillway
Drawoff
Tower
Main Dam
Saddle Dam B
Saddle Dam A
Saddle Dam C
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Figure 12: Elevation-Area-Storage Curve

From the yield analysis for a 105 Mld scheme, the minimum active storage required
is 9 MCM, and the corresponding full supply level (FSL) is 45.0 m LSD. Hence, the
gross storage of the reservoir is about 10.5 MCM, taking into account of its 1.5 MCM
dead storage.















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The key features of the ORS are as tabulated below:

Impounded area 0.5 km2
Live storage 9.0 MCM
Dam crest level 47.0m LSD
Top of wave wall / parapet wall level 47.5m LSD
Dam crest width 10m
Dam crest length 800m
Dam height 37.0m
Full supply level 45.0m LSD
Maximum flood level
( during PMF )
45.8m LSD
Drawoff tower operating deck level 47.0 LSD
Spillway / drawoff culvert 2.0m x 2.0m square
Spillway type Drop Inlet
Spillway crest level 45.0m LSD
Spillway diameter 2.0m
Spillway weir length 4.0m
PMF Discharge 6.15 m3/s
Stilling basin size 10.0m x 2.0m
Saddle dam 3 nos.





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5.2.2 Dam and Appurtenant Structures

The orientation of dam axis has been selected based on the following consideration:
shortest crest length, minimum fill volume and at the same time maximize the storage
volume.

The selected dam axis follows the orientation of the left and right abutment ridges
which rises gently beyond the embankment crest level of 47m LSD. The dam is
designed as an earthfilled claycore embankment. Figure 13 shows a typical dam
section. The chosen dam axis resulted in a layout with a crest length of 753 m and a
height of 37 m. The approximate total fill volume is about 2 million cu.m.

There are three (3) numbers of saddle dams located southward of the main dam
namely Saddle Dam A, Saddle Dam B and Saddle Dam C. All the saddle dams and
main dam can be accessed by the access road running along the east side of the
reservoir rim. The reservoir formed by the dam would inundate an area of 50 ha.



Figure 13: Dam Embankment Cross-Section

A drop-shaft spillway is provided to pass safely the Probable Maximum Flood at the
main dam. The routed flood will be discharged through a 2m x 2m square culvert,
which is also used for diversion of construction flood. The spillway general
arrangement is shown in Figure 14 and Figure 15.

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Figure 14: Spillway


Figure 15: Photo of Spillway and Main Dam

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The outlet works comprise a wet well Drawoff Tower and a single line outlet pipe at
Saddle Dam B. For selective drawoff of the more oxygenated water at the top, the
drawoff tower will have five inlet levels with isolating stainless steel penstocks. The
inlets are at level 40m, 35m, 30m, 25m and 20m LSD. The general arrangement of
the tower is shown in Figure 16.


Figure 16: Drawoff Tower


Figure 17: Photo of Drawoff Tower and Saddle Dam B
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Impounded reservoirs are known to experience thermal stratification due to
temperature distribution with depths. An effective way to alleviate the stratification
problems is to mix the water in the reservoir to bring the deoxygenated layer to the
surface. A perforated pipe compressed air system has been incorporated. Compress
air will be pumped to the bottom of the reservoir through a perforated HDPE pipe.
The air bubbles released though the perforated pipe will create a turning effect on the
reservoir body to mix the water between the upper and lower layer. This in turn will
improve the reservoir water quality by increasing the dissolve oxygen content and
stabilises the ecosystem and prevents excessive blooms of algae and zooplankton.

5.3 Earthquakes Impact

The off river storage site lies within the western portion of the seismically stable
Sunda Shelf which also comprises of Southern Thailand, East Malaysia, Kalimantan,
Indo-China and South China Sea. However there are a number of small seismic
events that have been recorded near the Sunda Shelf. The epicentres of these
earthquakes lie in Sumatra and almost all are located less than 100 km depth.

The Contact Zone between the Indian Plate and the Asian Plate is where maximum
seismicity is concentrated and where earthquake of magnitude beyond 6.5 are
located. The boundary of this zone is approximately 200 km from the off river
storage dam site.

Between Nov 2007 to May 2008, reactivation of Bukit Tinggi faults has cause a
series of cluster earthquakes which had magnitudes between 1.8 3.5 with the focal
depth less than 10km. Although these events are the first natural earthquakes with
epicentres on Peninsular Malaysia, the magnitude is too negligible to cause any
effect to the existing structures.

The design of the embankment has taken seismic effect into consideration by
incorporating ground acceleration in the stability analysis. Although the estimated
acceleration of the 26
th
December 2004 earthquake in Sumatra is only 0.55g, it is
more appropriate to use 0.1g since this event may occur at any area where the
epicentre could be nearer to the off river storage dam site. The U.S. Corps of
Engineers has also adopted 0.1g seismic coefficient for seismically stable areas. The
stability analysis shows a factor of safety of 1.25 which is above the required of 1.0.
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5.4 Reservoir Operating Rule Curve

The control rule curves are used to aid in the day-to-day reservoir operation by
specifying the minimum desirable storage level to be maintained as closely as
possible during the different times of the year while at the same time, providing
adequate raw water supply to satisfy various demands.

The curves are generally derived by carrying out operational studies using historical
hydrometric records, i.e. mainly long-term streamflow records. In addition it is also to
be reviewed from time to time based on the experiences gained in operating the
reservoir.

Seven (7) runs based on the net yield of the pump storage system operation were
carried out. They range from 60 Mld to 105 Mld, i.e. the highest yield associated with
the maximum storage capacity of 9.0 MCM. The results are shown in Figure 18.

The rules curve allows abstraction of more than 105 Mld, i.e. above the design net
yield if the live reservoir storage at any month is above the specific curve in the rule
curve diagram but subject to other constraints such as the hydraulic capacity of the
WTP and the offtake. Conversely, if the rule curve fells below the targeted level, then
abstraction should be curtailed accordingly to a lower abstraction rate.

The derived rule curves for Sg. Labu pump storage reservoir system should be
reviewed regularly so as to permit the incorporation of acquired experiences through
actual operation of the reservoir system. To do so, this essentially entails keeping
meticulously pertinent hydrometric (rainfall and evaporation rate) and operational
records, such as accurately accounting for abstraction and flow past the intake to
obtain the natural river flow data.

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0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Month
M
C
M
105 Mld 95 Mld 90 Mld 90 Mld
80 Mld 70 Mld 60 Mld FSL

Figure 18: Operating Rule Curve

6.0 Raw Water Quality

Assessment of the raw water quality at the proposed intake was previously carried
out during the Engineering Feasibility Study stage using raw water quality information
from 2007-2008, which was obtained from Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn. Bhd. (PNSB), as
well as one grab sampling carried out by the Consultant in May 2009.

Based on the earlier assessment, the parameters of the raw water was found to be
within the acceptable range of the Ministry of Health (MOH) Raw Water Guidelines,
except for certain months which shows high peaks for parameters such as colour,
COD, ammonia, iron and manganese.

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Although the water quality data seemed to indicate that the quality of the raw water is
acceptable for use as a potable supply based on information from PNSB, there have
been many incidences when the Salak Tinggi plant has been shutdown due to
pollution episodes at Sungai Labu. The incidences occur mainly during periods of low
flow when the dilution capabilities of the river are at its lowest. The types of pollutants
observed by the plant operators are generally similar on all occasions (high
ammonia, chemical odour, foamy substances, blackish coloured waters).

It is therefore, strongly suggested that enforcement by the authorities be carried out
more diligently. During each event when pollution is detected at the Salak Tinggi
plant especially for long periods, it should be possible to track down the sources of
pollution and impose heavy penalties and stern actions on these premises. Only in
this way, can the sustainability of new and existing intakes within Sungai Labu be
ensured. If enforcement is not strictly carried out, the situation will worsen especially
since there are large industrial areas upstream and this will jeopardize the water
resources availability.

In view of the occasional pollution issues, the proposed KLIA alternative water supply
scheme has allowed for stoppage of pumping of the raw water during these
incidences. A monitoring station is provided about 0.6 km upstream of the intake site
to alert the operators to stop pumping when pollution is detected.


7.0 Plant Operation and Challenges

During commissioning of the plant, the contractor encountered a few challenges that
prevented them from carrying out the 7 days testing and commissioning as planned.
The challenges are namely the low quantum of flow the river and the quality of the
raw water.

7.1 Low Flow

Plant commissioning was carried out in the month of July where historical data show
it is the driest period of the year in west coast peninsular Malaysia. The flow in the
river during this period is only averagely about 100 Mld to 150 Mld. Subtracting 38
Mld for compensation flow and 10 Mld for the existing Salak Tinggi Intake (STI)
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downstream, the plant should still be able to abstract about 50 Mld to 100 mld into
the ORS. However this was not possible due to the low efficiency of the existing STI
downstream. The existing STI eventhough only of 10 Mld capacity needed the
proposed river gate to release a flow of about 100 Mld in order to achieve the
required river level to flow into the intake as it does not have a river gate itself.

To overcome this setback, the contractor together with the STI plant operator have
stacked sand bags across the river at the existing STI to channel the required river
flow into the intake. After this counter-measure was carried out, the Sungai Labu
Intake has since abstracting averagely 75 to 105 mld daily and 175 mld during rainy
days.

Even though the intake is designed to have a maximum plant capacity of 175 mld, 6
numbers of smaller capacity pumps of 35 mld each are installed. This is so that the
plant will be able to operate even during low flow as the smaller pump capacity will
be able to abstract even the lower flow instead of letting it to waste. During high flow
the plant can run at a capacity of 175 mld with 5 pumps running and 1 pump standby.

7.2 Poor Water Quality

The poor raw water quality in the river is partly attributed by the dry weather. As the
flow reduces; the concentration of pollutant increases and jeopardizing the water
quality. The pollutant encounter during commissioning of the plant are similar to
those describe in Section 5. From the river water quality monitoring exercise carried
out during the construction period, the JPS Drain located just upstream of the river
gate had been notice to consistently discharging high ammonia content flow in the
range of 4 mg/l to 6 mg/l into the Sungai Labu. To prevent abstracting this heavily
polluted water into the ORS a 1.0 meter diameter diversion reinforced concrete
culvert was constructed to divert the flow from the JPS drain downstream of the river
gate. With the JPS drain diverted, the ammonia content in Sungai Labu reduces to
about of 0 mg/l to 3 mg/l but still occasionally fluctuate to as high as 6 mg/l, where the
intake was forced to stop operation for about 3 days. This is likely due to discharge
from sewerage treatment plants and industrial area upstream.

The water quality in the ORS is also monitored regularly. The ammonia content is
averagely 1.0 mg/l which is below the Ministry of Health (MOH) guideline of 1.5 mg/l.
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The raw water quality is also likely to be improved after being aerated as the water
cascades down the outfall channel. The water quality in the ORS can be improved
further by operating the destratification system to mix the water in the reservoir and
bring the deoxygenated layer to the surface for aeration to increase the dissolved
oxygen content in the water to a favourable level. A vertical water quality profiler was
installed on the ORS to monitor the real-time water quality of the reservoir from the
surface to the bottom of the lake. This will give an indication when to operate the
destratification system, i.e. when the water quality of the bottom layer and the top
layer differ greatly.

8.0 Impact of Project

With the implementation the proposed Sungai Labu Off-River Storage Scheme,
KLIAs current and long term water demands are secured and at the same time it
provides valuable supply to partially offset water shortages in the State by serving
other demand centres in Sepang and Kuala Langat simultaneously. This supply is
strategically located and will provide extremely valuable support by relieving the
existing Sg. Semenyih WTP of supply to KLIA and surrounding areas thus enabling
this plant to be in a position to provide more reliable supply for other important
demand centres such as Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.

This project being implemented under the Projek Ransangan Ekonomi 2 (PRE2)
Scheme is anticipated to stimulate the economy of the country during this global
recession as most materials and equipments for the project are sourced locally. It
also creates further job opportunities for the construction industry.



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