Emerging facts about Likas Bay sewage saga
Published on: Sunday, February 24, 2019
By: Kan Yaw Chong
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In answer to the question where is the problem, leakage has been cited as the cause in some press reports.
“Fake news and diverting attention news,” one highly-educated professional scoffed.
“It’s not leaking sewer pipes, it’s discharged on purpose,” one claimed.
“Sewage is discharged into the sea not because of leaking pipes but because of blatant modification of pipes to directly discharge into open drains,” an overseas returned graduate alleged.
Where it started
The point source of the raw sewage is the Likas Sewage Pump House located adjacent to the SJKC Chung Hwa Likas.
From this pump house, raw sewage is pumped about 100 metres through buried steel outlet pipes linked to two blue painted gate valves near the T-junction between Jalan Mergastua and Jalan Teluk Likas where the smelly sludge roars out into an open drain.
It then flows half a kilometre past the gates of both Lok Yuk Primary and Secondary schools before spilling into a big monsoon drain and into the sea and recreational beaches of Likas Bay.
SM Lok Yuk students complained that whiffs of foul smell penetrated their classrooms tens of metres away, especially in the morning.
Direct discharge is purpose-built
So, given the two elbow-shaped outlet mouths tailor-made to pour the toxic stuff into an open drain at two places and the two gate valves to shut or release sewage flows, it proves beyond any doubt that the direct discharge of untreated raw sewage into Likas Bay was purpose-built. “The smell is outrageous and it has been going on for a while now. I am surprised nothing has been done about this by the authorities.”
Failed manhole prompted easy way out
But were the authorities forced into this outrageous option? “Yes”, to the people looking for an easy way out. An absolute “no” to the technically competent.
So what prompted the easy way out?
Apparently, it started with a manhole foul up some people could not solve.
Sewage used to be pumped through a connecting manhole located under the Jalan Teluk Likas at the T-junction en route to the Inanam Sewage Treatment Plant but about a year or so ago, the manhole kept bulging and overflowing, an eyewitness noted.
The eyewitness, a Likas resident and technical guru with years of international experience, told Daily Express.
No technical excuse Sabah can’t repair a manhole
“On multiple occasions, I have driven past this manhole at the T-junction which was oozing out foul sewage and bulged up.
“Everybody driving past it would do their best to veer clear of the toxic sludge. I have also seen work gangs tried to repair it but it seems all attempts to fix it had failed.”
We don’t know all the details of exactly what happened.
But it is not difficult to guess that repeated failures to repair the connecting manhole linking the Likas Pump House to the pipeline on Jalan Tuaran triggered the unthinkable decision to skip the manhole and simply build a new steel sewer pipe to divert and throw out the raw sewage to the nearby open roadside drain leading to the monsoon drain and out into Likas Bay and Likas Lagoon.
But is there any excuse Sabah can’t find somebody they can count on to repair a manhole in the first place?
“No,” said the technical guru.
“What is so technically difficult to fix pipelines? This is no rocket science. They tried multiple times to fix the manhole and failed. There are right ways and wrong ways to do it, given the ground conditions at Likas.
“The right way, why not just pour cement stabilised sand surrounding the manhole and pipe connection instead of placing crusher-run (loose gravel compacted). That would have worked,” said the technical guru who had used cement stabilised sand to build roads in very challenging ground conditions overseas.
A 30-year-old sewer line and pump house
All said, the direct discharge of raw sewage into Likas Bay is deliberate and any claim of pipe leakage is fake and dishonest.
However, the Likas Pump House was built some 30 years ago, and as a former high-ranking civil servant sees it, the sewage line starting at Likas runs all the way underneath the Jalan Teluk Likas. It connects to the sewage line along Jalan Tuaran then goes all the way to Inanam Sewage Treatment Plant inland Kingfisher Park.
He says it’s true somebody created a direct discharge out to Likas Bay in case the line gets blocked up at the T-junction of Likas Bay Road and Jalan Mergastua leading to SJKC Chung Hwa Likas.
The sinkhole saga – nothing difficult to repair
There was also a portion of sewer along Jalan Tuaran which was severed after a sinkhole developed (opposite Servay Hypermarket) which has not been repaired, according to the former top civil servant who was recorded as saying:
“So the sewage has nowhere to go but being discharged through the drains here (Likas).”
How true this is, we are not sure.
On the other hand, if it were true, the veteran technical guru, quoted earlier, questioned how come it took so long to repair severed pipes caused by sinkholes, if any.
“These are just pipes and nothing difficult to repair and it there were a severance of the pipes opposite Servay, why is it taking so long? I see no reason except an issue of competence,” he said.
Questions on Inanam Sewage Treatment plant
But is the Inanam Sewage Treatment Plant to which sewage from Likas is pumped to, fully operational and able to take the load?
Another former top civil servant says he believes oxidation ponds are “important” in the treatment of raw sewage but it is claimed that apparently a good number of the oxidation ponds in Inanam had been reclaimed for housing development in return for a state-of-the-art treatment plant whether that is delivered we don’t know.
Likas Saga and EPD Report exposed sad face of sewage management
Whatever the truth, the Likas Bay saga has exposed a sad face of long neglected sewage management in Sabah.
One individual noted that the Environment Protection Department (EPD) published a Report on Waste Water Treatment Survey funded by Danced in 2002, or 17 years ago. He urged people to read the report because “it will make you cry”.
No Master Plan
On wastewater planning and financing, the report says “there is no master wastewater treatment plan for Sabah”.
What Sabah has are various regional studies, such as the comprehensive development plan for Kota Kinabalu (Penampang included), Sandakan and Tawau, prepared by consultants for the State Ministry of Town and Country Development in the early 1980s.
But due to financial and political priorities, the plans although meant to be statutory plans, had not been implemented, the report says.
At the time, there were 95 wastewater treatment plants designed to serve 31pc of the population in these districts but two-thirds or 66 out of the 95 were out of operation and only 16pc of the population in these districts were actually covered by common (4) or individual (91) wastewater treatment plants.
Poor operational status
Their operational status or statistics portrays a poor picture.
In the four districts surveyed, it was found that:
- 67pc, or two out of three, of all WWTPs were out of operation
- 21pc, or one in five, of all WWTPs were in operation, but working inefficiently.
- 12pc, or one in 10, of all Common WWTPs were in operation and working as planned.
- 8pc of the individual WWTP were in operation and working as planned.
Although there is a need to see if anything has changed since 17 years ago, the likelihood is nothing had changed.
“Overall it is not a good picture,” the individual said and suggested people to go see how many culverts are visible at low tide.
But what’s the purpose of wastewater treatment plants? Basically to keep water bodies clean and healthy.
City wastewater is not clean and so there must be efficient treatment plants to remove hazardous materials that damage water quality that are a danger to human health and damage to the natural environment, remove odour, remove setable solids, disinfect water and adjust pH of the water.
Concerned professionals urge the government to get some competent people to get the job done even without tender because it is urgent.
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