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  Channel NewsAsia 15 Feb 06
Singapore disputes Malaysian article on Causeway pollution
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore has disputed a recent Malaysian newspaper report which said the Causeway is a source of pollution in the Johor Straits. Singapore's High Commission to Malaysia has written to the newspaper editor on the matter.

Malaysia's New Straits Times quoted an expert on water quality as saying "the only way out now is to demolish the Causeway and release the water."

In the article, the expert claimed a report had found conclusive evidence that discharge from the Kranji sewage and Senoko plants had contributed to the deterioration of water quality in the Strait. But Singapore High Commission said this was not true.

The Murray-North report mentioned identified main pollution sources like Sungei Johor and Pasir Gudang. The report noted to improve water quality in the Straits, it was necessary to remove pollution in the form of untreated sewage and wastewater from industries and agriculture at source.

Singapore explained that on its side, the only source of pollution identified was treated effluent from two water reclamation plants. And Singapore is diverting this via a deep tunnel sewerage system, now under construction. - CNA /ct

Today Online 16 Feb 06
Straits pollution not due to Causeway, S'pore tells NST

Singapore yesterday rebutted a report published in Malaysia's New Straits Times newspaper which claimed that the Causeway is a source of pollution in the Johor Straits and that demolishing the Causeway would solve the problem.

In a strongly-worded statement to the editor of the newspaper, Singapore's High Commission in Malaysia also dismissed allegations that waste discharged from the Singapore side had led a deterioration of the water quality in the Straits.

The New Straits Times carried an interview in its Tuesday edition with Malaysian hydrologist Low Kwai Sim who recommended that "the only way out (of the pollution problem) is to demolish the Causeway and release the water".

In the report, Dr Low cited a study called the Murray-North report and said that it was commissioned by Singapore and Malaysia. The report, claimed Dr Low, found conclusive evidence that discharges from the Kranji sewerage plant and Senoko plant had contributed to the poor water quality in the Straits.

Singapore's High Commission yesterday said that the Murray-North report did not identify the Causeway as a cause of pollution in the Johor Straits. "Indications from the study are that Causeway opening could not be justified in benefit/cost terms in either the short or long term. Benefits are restricted to a marginal improvement in dissolved oxygen levels," said the statement citing the report.

The High Commission also said that the Murray-North report was in fact commissioned by the then-Ministry of Environment of Singapore and the then-Ministry of Science and Technology of Malaysia to study the hydraulic and water quality of the Strait in 1993.

The report identified the main sources of pollution as Sungei Segget, Sungei Skudai, Sungei Tebrau, Pasir Gudang and Sungei Johor, said the High Commission citing the study.

The study also noted that to improve water quality in the Straits, it was necessary to remove pollution in the form of untreated sewage, and wastewater from industries and agriculture at source.

On the Singapore side, the report said that the only source of pollution identified was treated effluent from two water reclamation plants. The High Commission's statement said Singapore had already taken steps to tackle the issue.

"Singapore is diverting this treated effluent away from the Straits of Johor and into the Straits of Singapore through a deep tunnel sewerage system, which is now under construction," it said. "In addition, Singapore's major rivers have been, or are in the process of being dammed up to form reservoirs to collect water for drinking."

Dr Low was commissioned by the company Gerbang Perdana to carry out environmental impact studies on the Strait. Over the past few weeks, Gerdang Perdana--the contractor building the $1.09 billion Southern Integrated Gateway, which includes building a new bridge across the Causeway--has been issuing a series of reports on the conditions of the Causeway to make a case for a new bridge.

The cost of a new bridge to replace the Causeway is about $500 million and Malaysia wants Singapore to share part of the cost. Singapore has maintained its position that the construction of the bridge can happen only if there are benefits to both sides.
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