Are You Drinking Pollutant-free Water?

In July, it was reported that the leachate from solid waste landfills can bring risk to human health through its effect on drinking water. Water experts have said that leachate that seep into groundwater carry pollutants like ammonia, and up to 150,000 people in Simpang Renggam, Johor may be affected by the ammonia leachate.

Our Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has stated that industries “must be environmentally friendly”, and works need to be done to achieve this.

At the meantime, is your water safe to drink? According to the advice from Tourism Malaysia, we should avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and unfiltered ice cubes, and drink only boiled water or bottled water.

Household drinking water in Malaysia

How do you keep your water safe? These are the most common household drinking water in Malaysia:

Filtered water

• An increasingly common choice among households in the country
• Houses can have one, two, or multiple water filters both indoor or outdoor
• It is important to understand your water filter’s filtration system before buying, know what is filtered and what is not
• Sometimes, healthy minerals may also be filtered out

Boiled water

• Boiling tap water kills bacteria but does not remove chemical contaminants and substances like rust
• Some people boil already-filtered water to make sure water is safe

Bottled water

• Quite common in Malaysia as it is available everywhere and is quite affordable
• Usually treated and contains essential minerals (mineral water) and is free of contaminants (distilled water)

Chlorine in our water

Also, do you know that “weird taste” in water you sometimes taste? That is usually chlorine, used as a disinfectant against bacteria like E.coli, Coliform and microbes found in water sources. 

Chlorine is safe to drink, and has been added to drinking water as early as the year 1902. According to Syabas, chlorine is sufficiently strong to kill germs, but not enough to harm humans. 

Our water piping

Sometimes if you find your water smelling or tasting metallic, it is not due to the water source, but rather the pipes that are not maintained well. These pipes can go up to several kilometres in length and particles can deposit from the pipes to cause a change in taste in our water. 

Pipes made from galvanised iron can last for 5-10 years, while pipes made from high density polyethylene or unplasticized vinyl chloride can last for 15-20 years before requiring maintenance. 

Besides, water tanks in homes that are not cleaned regularly can also cause this peculiar taste to be present in our water supply.

According to a study, Malaysians rated the country’s water supply as poor and very poor on average. What do you think? What is your method of purifying water in your home?

Juliet’s Reminder: Have you experienced seeing dirty water when you turn on the tap in the morning? This could be due to internal plumbing problem or water in the storage tank that is stagnant at night, causing particles to flow out when the taps are turned on. However, the water should be clear after a while. If it doesn’t, give a call to your water supplier hotline!