SYNOPSIS

Various issues related to water pollution have arisen of late; these include matters concerning water supply, recreation as well as other beneficial uses. Traditionally, matters regarding pollution control have come under the purview of legislations such as the Environmental Quality Act, 1974. These regulations prescribe specific limits for contaminants before they can be discharged into surface water bodies (rivers, coastal etc.). Unfortunately, the current control approach has certain very prevalent shortcomings; most glaringly, compliance to limits in the regulations DOES NOT guarantee preservation of surface water bodies. For example, ammonia from a sewage treatment plant, released at Standard A compliance of the regulations, at 10 mg/L has to undergo dilution to less than 1.5 mg/L in the receiving river, before water from the river can be extracted and treated for potable water supply. Whether or not this sufficient “dilution” is achieved, is the million-ringgit question. It is time to change our control approach to something more effective. One of the options is load based control, aka, the TMDL approach. Actually, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act, describing a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards. In essence, TMDL is an allocation of a pollutant deemed acceptable to the receiving waters. Calculating the TMDL for any given body of water involves the combination of factors that contribute to the problem. Bodies of water are tested for contaminants based on their intended use. Each body of water is tested similarly but designated with a specific TMDL. The size of the water body also is taken into consideration when TMDL calculation is undertaken. This talk will discuss about these load control/TMDL measures as well as mechanisms for their possible implementation in Malaysia.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

Ir. Dr. Zaki Zainudin is a Professional Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the Engineering Council, UK and Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) with the Society for the Environment (SocEnv, UK). Zaki is a renowned environmental specialist in the area of water quality assessment and modeling, having led and played key roles in numerous (> 100) environmental studies for both private and government sectors. He often appears in the media giving input about surface water quality issues in Malaysia and is a source of reference for various organizations on water quality management. This includes being an expert panelist for the Department of Environment Malaysia (DOE, EIA, Water and Marine units) and is advisor to many prominent environmental consultancy firms. He has conducted various workshops and talks on water quality and modeling at both local and international venues. Zaki is also on the management committee of the International Water Association (IWA), Watershed and River Basin Management (W&RBM) Specialist Group. The above is a glimpse of his credentials. His CV and full list of activities can be viewed at : http://www.facebook.com/zakizainudin.