The impact of sewage treatment plant loading to river basin during Movement Control Order

Abstract

Environment quality is essential aspects of life on earth, any changes in the quality have a significant impact on human beings. The implementation unprecedented Movement Control Order (MCO), which halted social, economic, and other activities except essential services contributed to opportunities for the earth to rejuvenate itself and build a better blue sky, peaceful wildlife, controlled noise pollution, and improved environmental features. Although the unprecedented Movement Control Order (MCO) due to COVID-19 pandemic posed some adverse effects on the environment, but there are also some benefits on the environment. One of the significant positive effects by the MCO is that the environment had rejuvenated during this period, especially significant water quality improvement. Many reports worldwide, including Malaysia, had reported that the environment including water quality had shown signification improvement. With controlled activities, MCO recognized contributed to river water quality rejuvenation amidst one of the main essential service sewage treatment plant operating at its fullest capacity. Amidst of various river pollution sources, Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) effluent discharge loading was identified as one of the main water resource polluters, and the MCO phenomenon turn raises the question of whether the STP effluent discharge loading onto river resources is the main culprit to the river pollution. This is a new challenge for water resources management to examine the impact of sewage treatment effluent discharge loading on water resource pollution loading in Malaysia. This study investigates the influence of sewerage treatment plant effluent loading from the Kuala Lumpur sewerage catchment to the Klang River basin within the Kuala Lumpur City Centre. The river’s natural self-carrying loading was investigated to evaluate the influence of sewerage effluent loading on the selected river basin. The STPs within the study area were identified and segregated based on its tributary river basin. The individual STP’s Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Suspended Solid (SS) average effluent discharge loading of the year 2020 analyzed against the study River’s BOD and SS average self-loading of the year 2020. The STP and River loading were analyzed to investigate the fraction of STP effluent discharge loading against River loading in the study river basin during MCO.