Faulty pump at PJ lake

Thursday April 9, 2009

By Tan Karr Wei

THE Eco-Fan installed to improve the water quality at the Kelana Jaya lake in April 2008 has stopped functioning, according to Friends of Kelana Jaya Park (FOKJP).

Its vice-president Jack Lim, 70, said the Eco-Fan was a pump installed at various locations of the lake to improve the water quality of the lake.

He said that it stopped working a few months ago and nothing has been done to fix it.

“So far, it doesn’t seem to be doing much to improve the water quality,” said Lim.

Committee member James Cherian, 55, said that there would be small ripples in the lake when the pump was working but there was no one to monitor the pump when it stopped functioning.

Faulty: The Eco-Fan (blue and orange in colour) is placed at several locations of the Kelana Jaya lake and its function is to improve the water quality of the lake.

Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) public relations director Haniza Abdul Hamid said that the Eco-Fan maintenance was still under the Global Environment Centre (GEC) as it had not been handed over to the council.

GEC River Care coordinator Dr Kalithasan Kailasam said the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) funded the project to test the effectiveness of the Eco-Fan in a natural environment.

“The fan was initially tested at ponds in palm plantations in a controlled environment. If it works, we were going to hand it over to the MBPJ for maintenance.

“So far, we’ve only seen a slight improvement in the water quality,” he said.

He added that the contractor has been having problems getting parts to fix the pumps.

“The project ends on April 17 and we will wait for the final water quality report before making a decision in our next meeting,” he said.

My Drains Day - 1st March 2009

Drains Clean Up (8, 15 and 22 February 2009)

In conjunction with My Drains Day or Hari Parit Ku to be held on 1st March 2009 at the Kelana Jaya Park, Friends of Kelana Jaya Park and the SS7 Kelana Jaya Community held a gotong royong to clean up drains in SS7/17 , SS7/26 and SS7/28 areas in Petaling Jaya.

Drains Clean Up on 8 February 2009

Stenciling Drains - Love My Drain

COME AND JOIN US FOR THE NEXT CLEAN UP ON 15th AND 22nd FEBRUARY !!

Kelana Jaya lake is toxic

Tuesday 10th February 2009
By Tan Karr Wei

THE water in the Kelana Jaya lake at SS7 in Petaling Jaya is so dreadfully polluted that even touching it is not advisable.

This sorry state of affairs was confirmed by an ongoing study conducted jointly by the Global Environment Centre (GEC) and the Department of Chemistry Malaysia.

According to GEC River Care Programe officer Shafinaz Shahabudin, the first phase of the Kelana Jaya Lake rehabilitation programme began in 2002.

Cleaning it up: The Friends of Kelana Jaya Park teamed up with residents to clean up the drains in SS7/28 area.

“We’re working with residents and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to resuscitate the lake. One important measure is by keeping the drains clean. If the drains are clean, the drainage water flowing into the rivers and lakes will be clean,” she said.

Shafinaz said the surrounding commercial areas were not using grease traps properly and this has resulted in the high level of pollutants in the lake.

Meanwhile, the Friends of Kelana Jaya Park (FOKJP), set up in 2005 to help in the rehabilitation of the lake, in conjunction with the My Drains Day celebration, organised a series of gotong-royong sessions to clean up the drains in the residential areas surrounding the lake.

Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo-Burne launched the first gotong-royong programme at the SS7/28 community hall involving residents from the surrounding houses and condominiums.

The amount of silt and rubbish being dug out from the drains in the area was shocking and alarming.

“The full participation of residents is crucial. We have been throwing stuff into the drains and we have to start by keeping our homes clean,” Loh said.

Petaling Jaya councillor Ahmad Yusof Ludin said the MBPJ would soon announce its plans to mitigate floods in the area.

Place to relax: Many Petaling Jaya residents use the park as a recreational area.

FOKJP vice-president Jack Lim said most people did not understand the strategic environmental significance of the lake.

“We want to resuscitate the lake not only for beautification purposes but also to use it as a water catchment area. It’s no use cleaning the lakes if people keep dumping rubbish into them,” Lim said.