Water smelling bad in your area?

[jeffooi]

<font size="+1">Water smelling bad in your area?
Please feedback to this Forum. </font>

So far, we have received feedback from USJ4, 11 and 16.
Some say it smells like nangka.

BS Lee of USJ9 has phoned PUAS at 5.30pm Oct 27.
PUAS gave a straight counter-question: Air berbau?

They said they will investigate.

Fingers crossed.
And here's an email sent to our Web Master:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Water quality
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 00:54:26 +0800
From: dingt
To: elho@usj.com.my

Anyone else notice the chemical smell from the tap water since
last nite?(Sun 27/10).

The smell is so strong that filtering the water doesn't do any
good and neither does boiling.

I've collected a sample of the water for testing. Does anyone
know where I could get it tested?

Thanks

[CCY]

It really smells bad in USJ2 as well . Smells like those PVC solvent that we used to joint pvc pipe .
I think we will never get a word from the relevant authorities on this matter .

[kwchang]

I get the chemical smell in my tap water in USJ9 as well.

[jeffooi]

----- Original Message -----
From: Patrick
To: usj_subangjaya@yahoogroups.com
Cc: elho ; Jeff Ooi ; KW Chang ; dingt
Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2002 6:35 PM
Subject: [uSJ NewsGroup] Re: [Fwd: Water quality]


Pathlab does it for RM80. Contact them at the Subang Branch at
Tel: 56311908.

Incidentally, I did smell something as I was taking my shower but
it didnt cross my mind as a possible water pollution problem. I
guess I now know my nose was right!


Rgds,
Patrick

[joker2107]

I get the bad smell in my tap water in USJ13 as well

[xweird]

Not only does it happen in USJ, it also happens in SS18. It has a "chemical" smell. I fear for my health and that of my family.

[jeffooi]

We received phone calls from Bandar Kinrara (BK5) saying they,
too, get that nangka smell from thetap water.

Whatssup?

[LimSB]

The water smell also affects SS19 area. Yesterday I did smell something but discounted it thinking that it may have come from my dirty outdoor filter element. Today after reading it here, I came back home and check again.

Yes, I can confirm that it smells like those adhesive glue (UHU for eg.) or it can be one of those solvents. I remember this smell quite well as i have experienced it before - have asked a plumber to change the upstairs piping to pvc pipe long time ago and it smelled like that for a few weeks after the installation.

Is PUAS doing some change of water pipes somewhere and utilising this type of glue/solvent? This is highly poisonous and its unacceptable :mad: How can they do this thing?? The lives and health of thousands of people are involved here. Pls. dont play play with our health .... i consider this 'water-terrorism':rolleyes:

[achee]

I noticed this smell when I poured boiled water (which was earlier filtered using the ceramic candle) into my cup. I threw it away thinking that something must have gone into the kettle.

Checked the direct water source, and true enough, the smell has been there..........even filtering doesn't do any good.

Please update Achee of any findings, and Achee wouldn't mind chipping in for any test to be done independently. :(

Regards.

[bslee]

PUAS has still not contacted me nor any sign of follow-up.
Doesn't matter. I hope they have done something.

The water was still bad this afternoon but now it's past midnight and I took a sample of water from the mains tap and seems to taste normal again. I could be wrong though! or my taste buds are blunt at this time of night! If I'm right,.hurrah! Just had some ice cream lar....
Even though I use a carbon block filter (newly replaced on Saturday morning) the filter could do little to remove the smell or awful taste.

It was so bad it just ruined my morning home made cuppa of teh tarik for 3 days. Imagine my tea tasted like it had rotted milk in it!
I'll check the water again later in the morning and see if it's back in order.

[sfliew]

It smell like the adhesives used in PVC piping in USJ 13.

[luke]

I dunno lah cos my house have this sandbed filter outside and electrolux filter inside..

But my friend from ss18 says she smelled Nail polish smell..


" Maybe this is like the Tuxedo show..." hope not..:o :confused:

[jaseline]

Yes, same here in SS14 and I supposed the whole Subang Jaya - USJ area got affected by this problem. It all started on Sunday afternoon here. Smells a lil bit like mild nail polish or probably some chemical / pvc solvent. Won't help even if you have the filter outside and the supply went straight to the tangki. Boiling the water won't help either and I supposed the Diamond Energy Water System wld be a good help at this point of time BUT we can't keep on take shower, brush teeth and wash plates, etc. with it right?

I'm still experiencing the smell this morning b4 I left for office.

I supposed contacts been made but question is how serious will they take this matter? 48 hrs has passed and we are still waiting anxiously for an explanation here and the best part is there are no feedback from the authority :confused:

[jericho]

is the usj water source came from Semenyih ?

I remember reading a newspapers article either today or yesterday about a few illegal fish pond being dugged near the semenyih water catchment area and some water pollution might have been occured.

[bslee]

Hmmm!.. A great variety of "smells"..
Definitely not the "Free smells" of Famous Amos cookies!
LOL!

But what!.. Drugged water! That's bad news!
Nevertheless, today, the water at home is not as bad as a few days ago.
A little bad water taste is still there though! At least it's gone though my spartan water filter.

[kwchang]

Hold it folks - the word is not drugged. A simple error of reading too fast. I thought I saw that too but after reading it one more time, what Jerico tried to say was that "a few illegal fish pond being dug near the semenyih water catchment area".

See how one simple gramatical error "dugged" can look like "drugged" ? It cannot be denied how important it is to have some amount of correct grammer in order to avoid misunderstandings.

Well, we are a colourful nation with colourful languages and I love Manglish as well. Heh heh, it would be funnier if the thread explodes into everyone hallucinating about SJ-USJ being taken for a dadah trip.

[jeffooi]

<FONT SIZE="+1">The feedback so far...</font>

Affected areas in USJ:
USJ 2: CCY, jericho
USJ 3: Bathu
USJ 4: dingt
USJ 9: BS Lee, KW Chang
USJ 13: joker2107, sfliew
USJ 14: Patrick, Haire

Affected areas in Subang Jaya:
SS 14: jaseline
SS 18: xweird
SS 19: LimSB
SS ??: achee, luke

Affected areas in Bandar Kinrara:
BK 5: Charles Wong

Strange, USJ draws its water from Semenyih Dam, while Subang
Jaya (areas north of Kesas Expressway) draws from Gombak Dam.

All 'contaminated' in one go... a systemic problem?

[haire]

I live in USJ 14 and the water also smell like nangka too , i think because my area is located around logi penapisan najis. better buy the 20 cent perliter water then drinking some chemical water dude.

[jeffooi]

THE STAR
Wednesday, October 30, 2002

LETTER
<FONT SIZE="+1">Send filthy filters to water dept</FONT>

THE enforcement by the Selangor Waterworks Department on unpaid water bills was reported prominently on Oct 1.

While such action is only to be expected, we should not let the department off for not fulfilling its obligation to supply potable water to consumers.

Just look around any residential areas these days and you will see that practically every house has a water filter installed immediately after the water meter.

And just look at the condition of those filters!

There must have been many complaints lodged with the department. It had been reported that some residents even had water samples taken from their houses and tested by private laboratories at their own expense to prove their point.

Despite the numerous complaints, there is hardly any improvement in the quality of water supply, if the situation is not getting worse.

I propose the following action by consumers to remind the department we are disgusted with the quality of the water supply, and that we have no choice but to incur extra costs to filter the supposedly potable water:

COLLECT the used filters and seal them in clear plastic bags.
MARK on the plastic bags the following information: the place of use (name of housing area and name of street would suffice), dates in use, and (for the more technically-inclined) the volume of water filtered by these filters.
SEND the filters to the nearest Waterworks office.

These used filters will enable the department to study and establish that the problem is real and serious, and to map out the degree of contamination geographically for further analysis.

When sufficient used filters have been sent, hopefully the department will become more serious about the problem and positive action will be taken.

TROUBLED WATER,
Petaling Jaya.
(via e-mail)

SOURCE:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/30/focus/filterx&sec=focus

[Bathu]

Yes, the water at USJ 3 also started this foul smell since Sunday. It smelled something like the chemical seal that usually used to seal the joins for PVC pipes.

First we have water cuts without anouncement and now we chemicals in our taps. WHAT NEXT???

[jericho]

kwchang,

Hahaha...so sorry for the "drugged" mistake. Hope no one having a sleepless nights over it

jeffooi,

I'm from USJ 2. I didn't feel anything wrong with my house water for the past few days. Maybe it is due the flu and fever I'm still sufferring from. But again no complaint from a friend staying with me. Oh by the way I'm using a carbon water filter right after the meter.

[CH]

Jeff,

I am from USJ 6, and nobody in my house complainted about the smell or anything - I did not feel anything too - just return home from an oversea trip, may be the tangki has done its job well - low consumption for the past few days ...

[jeffooi]

Hopefully the foul smell has gone by now, after 120 hours.
And we all survived. :rolleyes:

[kwchang]

I don't notice the smell now. Has it gone?

[bslee]

Suppose everybody has "consumed" the smell.. no more to go around..LOL!
It's still present, but far lower than a few days ago.

[CCY]

As I mentioned earllier on , is there any word from the relevant authorities ?
None at all . They can put any chemical into the water and get away scot free .

[sfliew]

The smelly water problem was reported in the "The Chinapress" on 30/10 in the Selangor/KL section, but it only highlight the problem in Puchong area without mentioning Subang Jaya or USJ.

[inertia]

I don't smell anything from my drinking water. Maybe due to the filter I have at home. I have two. (extra kiasu) :D
Both of the filters are VERY dirty. I wanna complain about the dirty water. I have a white shirt, and after washing it in the machine, I took it out to dry and found out that there is this yellow stain on the shirt. This has happened MANY times. All I do is wash the shirt again, and the stain will go off. Try using powerful suds. But this is a big waste of time. Maybe I should just avoid wearing white. :p

[jeffooi]

WAHIDA of USJ 16/3C wrote to The Malay Mail Hotline (Tel: 03-
2282 1002 Fax: 03-2284 9133) about the problem of the water
flowing from her tap being smelly.

THE MALAY MAIL November 11, Page 6:

Wahida wonders if the smelly water is safe for consumption.

"We have young children at home and we are not sure if the
water is safe for drinking and cooking."

She hopes Perbadanan Urus Air Selangor (PUAS) will do
something about the quality of the water as many people cannot
afford to buy mineral water all the time for their families.


:p PUAS public relations executive Nabiha Muhammad Ismail
says that the compaint has been forwarded to their technical
staff for further action.

"They will do 'scouring and flushing' to get rid of the dirty water in
the pipe," she says.

She adds that their staff will get in touch with the complainant to
get the address of the affected areas, and ensure that the task
of cleaning the pipe is carried out immediately.

[LimSB]

The standard reply from PUAS or previously JBAS, is always:
"They will do 'scouring and flushing' to get rid of the dirty water in
the pipe," But how absurd it is here. No amount of scouring can ever remove dissolved chemicals or toxins. Scouring can only remove sediments and dirt. Dissolved chemical compounds cannot even be removed thru boiling.

If the smell has gradually gone away, don't be too happy about it. As BS Lee has rightly said, "everybody has 'consumed' the smell.. ". Where has it gone? Answer: it has been absorbed by our own livers ... livers of you and I and our young children, babies included! Our liver is the only filter that can filter dissolved organic toxins. But it has a limit of its own. Beyond that limit, your liver will fail and your health or life will be in serious jeopardy.

Perhaps PUAS's delayed response is to wait until the smell is gone and then they come to our houses and take some water samples for testing. By then, the toxic substances do not exist anymore as all has gone into our livers! :mad:

[bslee]

Hi,
Ok..Ok... the consensus here is that the water is smelly,dirty and possibly unfit for human consumption.

Jeff: How about we all organize and march into PUAS with the dirty filters and samples smelly water.

I think we should exercise our rights at their doorstep!
Serious!

BS Lee

[jeffooi]

THE STAR

Saturday, November 02, 2002

<FONT SIZE="+1">Selangor probes claims of tainted water</FONT>
By DEVID RAJAH and M. KRISHNAMOORTHY

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor Government is investigating claims of water contamination at the Semenyih treatment plant after residents in Semenyih and Shah Alam complained that they had been receiving water which smelt like some form of chemical for the last week.

State executive councillor Datuk Sharif Jajang, who was contacted regarding the complaints, said he would call for a full investigation.

“We are concerned and I will personally call up Perbadanan Urus Air Selangor Bhd (PUAS) and ask for an explanation,” said the exco for Infrastructure, Information and Malay Reserve.

Sharif said he would not be able to confirm if there had been a chemical spill or seepage at the intake point in Sungai Semenyih.

English Language lecturer Azian Abdul Kadir from Taman Tasik Semenyih claimed that an official had told her that water samples taken from the Semenyih treatment plant confirmed the existence of the chemical compound phenol.

“The officer also told me that the water contained a high level of nitrogen,” said Azian, who has been buying mineral water for drinking and taking water from friends in Seremban for other uses.

A resident of Shah Alam said she had also been getting tap water that smelt like it had been laced with some chemical substance.

“My apartment smells like a furniture factory because the water smells like wood varnish,” claimed the woman, who declined to be named.

She also said that some people who drank the water complained of throat, eye and skin irritation.


SOURCE:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/11/2/nation/mucont&sec=nation

[kwchang]

Reference :
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - ToxFAQ for Phenol
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts115.html

June 1999

What is phenol?(Pronounced fee'nol)

Phenol is a manufactured substance found in a number of consumer products. It is a colorless-to-white solid when pure. The commercial product is a liquid. It has sickeningly sweet and tarry odor. You can taste and smell it at levels lower than those that are associated with harmful effects. Phenol evaporates more slowly than water, and a moderate amount can form a solution with water. Phenol can catch fire.

Phenol is used primarily in the formation of phenolic resins. It is also used in the manufacture of nylon and other synthetic fibers. It is also used in slimicides(chemicals that kill bacteria and fungi in slimes), as a disinfectant, as an antiseptic, and in medicinal preparations, such as mouthwash and sore throat lozenges.

What happens to phenol when it enters the environment?

It generally remains in the soil only about 2 to 5 days. It can remain in water for longer than 9 days. Small amounts of phenol may be found in organisms that live in contaminated water.

How might I be exposed to phenol?

You may be exposed to phenol if you work with or manufacture it. You may be exposed to very low levels in your home because it is found in a number of products, including some medicines, lotions, and ointments. Low levels of phenol are found in some foods, including smoked summer sausage, fried chicken, mountain cheese, and some species of fish. Phenol enters the lungs when you inhale tobacco smoke. It can be present in low levels in air and drinking water.

How can phenol affect my health?

In people, the effects of breathing phenol in air are not known. People who had skin exposure to high levels had liver damage, diarrhoea, dark urine, and hemolytic anemia.

In animals, breathing air with high levels of phenol resulted in irritation of the lungs. Repeated exposures led to muscle tremors and loss of coordination. Exposure to high levels of phenol for several weeks caused paralysis and severe injury to the heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs, and in some cases, death.

Phenol can have beneficial effects when used medically as an antiseptic or anesthetic.

How likely is phenol to cause cancer?

It is not known if phenol causes cancer in people. Phenol did not cause cancer in mice or rats when they drank water containing it for 2 years. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that phenol is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.

How does phenol affect children?

The effects of exposure to phenol on the human fetus are not known. Pregnant animals that drank water containing high concentrations of phenol gave birth to babies that had low birth weights and minor birth defects.


Source :
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop E-29
Atlanta, GA 30333

Other references -
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Public Health Statement
http://www.cla.sc.edu/geog/hrl/sctrap/toxfaqs/phenol.htm

BEAM Chemical fact sheet
http://www.state.me.us/dep/air/beam/factsheets/phenol_fs.htm

US-EPA air toxics website
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/phenol.html

[xweird]

Well, whoever that solved the problem of the smelly water, thank you so much. The water has been ok for the past few days, and hopefully will continue to be a healthy source of this much needed liquid.