IPOH, Perak: The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has detected premises that failed to carry out septic tank desludging for up to 20 years, raising concerns over environmental pollution and public health risks.
SPAN Operations Division Enforcement Section’s Director, Ainal Yusman Mohamad Yusop, said the findings were uncovered during Ops Kejor 1, conducted jointly with Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), involving inspections of premises in the Menglembu Industrial Area and Chandan Jaya here.
“Some have exceeded two desludging cycles, while there are also premises found to have never carried out desludging work for up to 20 years,” he told reporters after the operations, which was also joined by IWK Northern Region Desludging Services Business Department Head, Wan Abdul Jalil Wan Husain, today.
Ainal Yusman said most of the cases stemmed from changes in premises ownership, failure to respond to notices issued by IWK, and a lack of awareness on the importance of maintaining sewerage systems.
“When septic tanks are not desludged regularly, they lose their ability to properly treat sewage, causing partially treated wastewater to flow into drains and ditches,” he said.
According to him, premises owners are only required to carry out septic tank desludging once every two years after receiving a notice from IWK, and if owners failed to respond, a follow-up notice would be issued before being referred to SPAN for enforcement action.
“SPAN will give premises owners who receive compliance notices a two-week period to take action before further enforcement measures are implemented,” he said, adding that the cost of desludging should not be a burden as it is required only once every two years, with charges varied according to premises’ category.
A total of 315 premises were inspected today under Ops Kejor 1, which runs from today until June 12, the fourth undertaken jointly by SPAN and IWK after Ops Kasturi in Melaka, Ops Mutiara in Penang and Ops Haruman in Perlis.
He said there were approximately 1.38 million individual septic tanks nationwide as of 2025, with 258,650 located in Perak.
Under Section 65(1)(c) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006, septic tank owners are required to maintain their systems by appointing a sewerage service licence holder or an E Permit holder to carry out desludging works within the prescribed period.
“Any individual who fails to comply with the provision may be fined up to RM50,000 upon conviction, while under Section 66(1)(a) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006, the responsible owner may be fined RM50,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months,” he added. – BERNAMA
