Just as the pandemic began, those living in Selangor were also hit with a headache of a common occurrence: water disruptions.
Though, the one good thing that came out of it was the fact that people became more aware that our rivers are severely polluted, which is why we have so many water shortages.
Recently, another incident at the Damansara river has caused public concern. A thick layer of white foam could be seen completely blanketing a long stretch of the Damansara river, as shared by Biji-biji Initiative with WORLD OF BUZZ.
The incident took place on 30 April, at 1.08am, when Taylor’s Me.reka Makerspace Director, William Koong, noticed the odd foam as he passed by the river.
“This is the Damansara river, located right behind the PPR Lembah Subang, where William and his team have been conducting digital literacy classes for our communities as part of the Me.reka Belia Programme,”
“It may be 1.08am when this was filmed but the footage is clear as day! The river is completely coated in a snow of white foam. This can’t be natural and this can’t be safe,” shared a Biji-biji Initiative spokesperson.
The river is home to an immensely diverse ecological system, where otters, fishes, other animals and plant life reside. With such a thick foam coating such a large stretch of the river, no one knows how much of it is in harm’s way until it’s too late.
Biji-biji Initiative shared that they have since approached the local authorities to determine who is responsible for the foam and that Indah Water is currently looking into identifying the source.
“Caring and uplifting our communities also include the beautiful plant and animal life we are surrounded with. This is their home too and we cannot sustain a lifestyle that is detrimental to theirs,”
“We look to our netizens today for an answer. What can we do? We are at the heart of innovation, how can we come together to solve this?” the spokesperson added.
Thankfully, they are in the works to find an appropriate solution that would efficiently pinpoint pollution in our waterways.
“Our Makerspace here is currently in the works of trying to invent an affordable water quality monitoring device, using the raspberry pi that can alert the authorities immediately, when the sensors go off,” shared Koong.
We also hope that the authorities see the severity of this situation and prioritise cleaning up the foam and ensuring that it never happens again by identifying and penalising its source before the balance of our ecosystem tips beyond repair.
You can check out the saddening video here.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comment section.
Also read: Could The Recent Water Disruptions Be Caused By The ‘Tidak Apa’ Attitude Of Malaysians?
