Mr. Zaidi Shahor
Unit Operation Manager, Operation and Maintenance Department,
Indah Water Consortium Sdn. Bhd.

1. The City

Kuantan is the state capitol of Pahang, the largest state in the peninsula. The city population is 412,172 people. It is a rapidly growing provincial town. From a few tens of thousands when the country became independent half a century ago it has now reached over 400,000, growing in excess of 2% per year. Designated a commercial and institutional center for the East Coast, it is expected that future growth rates will only increase.

The Sewerage Services Act was passed in 1993 giving the Federal Government the executive authority over sewerage services throughout the country. The services are now contracted to a statal organization, the Indah Water Konsortium. To date, there are 228 sewerage treatment plants in Kuantan, which range from 20PE to 30,000PE. Much of the existing sewerage system was built in the early 1970’s, such as the communal septic tanks (CSTs), individual septic tanks (ISTs) and Imhoff tanks - and they are unable to achieve the final effluent standard set by the Department of Environment (DOE). The individual septic tanks serve about 51% of households, the centralized sewer system serves 47% of households, and individual primitive systems serve the remaining 2%. The latter number has declined from 11% 7 years ago is designed to be fully eliminated in the near future.

In Kuantan the overall system is now old and inadequate to the current needs. The design of premises/ buildings before 1994 allowed sullage to be discharged into monsoon drains. Poor acceptance rates for ISTs and de-sludging, as well as design constraints have resulted in final effluent not complying with the DOE standard. Sewerage treatment plants designed and built in early 1970’s and 1980’s cannot comply either, due to their design constraints.

Trickling Filters (left), Rotating Biological Contactor  (center) and Oxidation Ditch (right)

Mechanized plants were introduced in the early 1990’s in the new development, but they are difficult to maintain due to logistical problems, being located all over the local authority’s area. In order to improve wastewater management in Kuantan, several actions need to be taken.

The refurbishment of STPs to conform to design intents and the DOE standard is necessary. So too is the de-sludging of individual septic tanks (ISTs) on a regular basis.

Kuantan is also facing wastewater management challenges such as the unavailability of sites for the disposal of sludge generated, or of a regional treatment plant. Issues related to final sludge management and disposal waste have not been thoroughly addressed, and the city wastewater management system is lacking manpower as well as financial resources.

The city’s weak elements that are unable to meet national environmental effluent standards, and the inadequate periodic de-sludging of septic tanks and inadequate facilities for proper waste water treatment, have resulted in the increasing pollution of the city’s river. Clearly the sewage treatment facilities need to be upgraded to meet national standards and clean the river.

To TOP

2. The Proposed Action Plan

At the center is a plan to obtain land and build a regional Sewage Treatment Plant adequate for the present and the near future, in order to 1) reduce the number of small, inefficient STPs and 2) save on maintenance, operation, staff and fleet costs. The plan aims to improve the quality of the water in the surrounding Kuantan area by acquiring land and constructing regional sewerage treatment plants. Sewage and sullage pollutants will also be reduced under the plan.

Targets:

1. Better quality of water and life should be achieved in Kuantan city.
2. The number of public STPs can be reduced from 228 to perhaps below 100 and result in the saving of maintenance, operation, manpower and fleet.
3. Private STPs and future development in the town area will connect wastewater to the regional STPs.

Time Frame: 3rd Quarter 2007- 4th Quarter 2009