MUAR: National sewerage company Indah Water Konsortium will charge households RM144 a year or RM12 a month under a special scheme to encourage them to desludge their septic tanks.
“It is a lot less than what people would pay for Astro television services or to top-up their cellular handsets every month,” said Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Noriah Kasnon.
She was speaking to reporters after launching the national-level Individual Septic Tank Desludging Campaign 2011 at Taman Tun Dr Ismail Dua here yesterday.
The Indah Water scheme was also launched in conjunction with the campaign.
Present were National Water Services Commission CEO Datuk Teo Yen Hua and Indah Water Konsortium CEO Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohd Din.
Noriah said the ministry has targeted to get 10% of the 1.2 million home septic tanks in the country to undergo scheduled desludging by the end of the year.
She said up to last year only 69,000 tanks or about 5% had carried out desludging.
She added that while there were laws to book those who failed to desludge their septic tanks every three years, including issuing compounds, the ministry wants the people to do it voluntarily.
“This is the reason we are launching the home or individual septic tank desludging campaign.
“We want to instil awareness among home owners,” she said, adding that emptying the tanks every three years would help to curb the spread of diseases.
Noriah said failure to desludge septic tanks had also contributed to river pollution because of the waste in clogged septic tanks overflowing into the waterways.
She said the number of clean rivers in the country had dwindled from 368 in 2007 to 306 in 2009.
“It will be too late if we don't protect our water sources now and costly if we have to treat our drinking water when the sources are polluted,” she added.
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