NEA & PUB Responds To Kranji River Pollution That Turns Water Milky; Says It’s ‘Non-Toxic’

2020-09-03 , 5:36 pm

Milk soaps and baths are great.

The smoothness of the soap feels great on your skin and there are even multiple health benefits too!

Still, if you saw an entire river turn milky you’d probably be extremely wary.

And drinking from it is certainly out of the question.

River Pollution

Let’s backtrack a bit.

On 29 August around 10.13am, Facebook user Jerome Pang was taking a stroll along Railroad Corridor towards Sungei Kadut Way

He then noticed a white reflection coming from the mangroves on his left.

According to him, some “industrial liquid” was being discharged into the mangroves.

He also said that the liquid had flowed a long way, starting from Kranji River, which flows into the Kranji Marshes next to the Mandai Marshes.

However, not all parts of the river were mixed into the liquid.

Eventually, Mr Pang roped in a friend to try and trace the source of this liquid.

After opening a few sewage covers, the two found that the source was actually a factory along Sungei Kadut Way.

It was also discovered that the liquid was mixed with cement and was draining into the river for over an hour.

Mr Pang also mentioned that the Public Utilities Board was ‘duly informed’ regarding this situation.

As of today, the situation has gotten a lot more under control.

According to Mothership, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and PUB have confirmed that the pollution came from a Sungei Kadut factory.

The liquid was also identified to be a binder for strengthening cement and most importantly…

…non-toxic.

You can all breathe a sigh of relief now.

PUB’s Quick Response team headed down to investigate after a lot of public feedback.

They even managed to clear all the liquid within two hours.

It was stated that the drain leads to Sungei Pang Sua Canal and flows into the sea instead of Kranji Reservoir.

The canal has been cleared since.

The company who discharged the liquid, however, is not.

PUB and NEA said that they “take a serious view towards water pollution” and won’t hesitate to take action against said company.

Both agencies said that they are currently investigating the incident.

Even though it was non-toxic, this liquid could’ve still affected the wildlife in other ways. Any sea life could have potentially ingested it too.

If you see signs of pollution or anything of the sort, you can call PUBs and NEAs 24-hour Call Centre at 1800-2255-782 or 1800-225-5632 respectively.