KLUANG: The Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) will add another 30 septic tanker lorries to its fleet so as to provide efficient desludging services under Ops Sedut said Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
He said the addition of the trucks was intended to facilitate the process of emptying septic tanks nationwide to reduce the risk of pollution to the public drainage system.
“In terms of the capabilities of these trucks, we have an additional 30 trucks this year. So indeed we expect this effort to be welcomed by consumers.
“This trucks will be operational every day where those who need desludging services can contact IWK to make an appointment and the truck will be mobilized from time to time to ensure that Ops Sedut is carried out smoothly,“ he said at a press conference during the handing over ceremony of the Completed Project to the Johor state government here today.
Meanwhile, IWK Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Narendran Maniam said emptying the septic tank is important to prevent the accumulated sludge from becoming full and flowing out of the tank into the drain, which can be harmful to the environment.
“We are still in the process of purchasing to replace old vehicles and add to the fleet to be more efficient in providing good service to customers. In Malaysia, there are about 1.35 million users of septic tanks which need to be emptied regularly at least once every two years,“ he said.
He said this was in line with the Water Services Industry (Decontamination Services) Regulations 2021 under the Water Services Industry Act 2006 where all owners, managers, or occupants of premises with septic tanks are required to carry out decontamination on a scheduled basis.
Failure to comply with this regulation is an offence under subsection 65(3) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 [Act 655] and can be, upon conviction, imposed a fine not exceeding RM50,000.
For Kluang District, Johor, there are about 67,009 septic tank users who need to undergo a regular decontamination process to ensure such tanks are not full and to sustain the environment.