(June 29): Studies on water quality from the Bakun hydroelectric dam conducted by two foreign universities show that the water contains unhealthy levels of aluminium, a local scientist says.

According to Dr Elli Luhat, the tests which were carried out by a university in California as well as Jiao Tong University in Shanghai in May reportedly showed aluminium levels in the water at 4.41 milligram per litre (mg/l) – exceeding the level of the Malaysian National Standard’s criteria for raw water of between 0.01 and 0.24mg/l .

“The water is considered toxic,” said Luhat, an executive chairman of a company specialising in water treatment.

Luhat, whose family was also one of thousands displaced by the construction of the controversial dam in Ulu Belaga, said the high aluminium levels were the result of the Sarawak government's failure to comply with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) recommendation to remove as much biomass in the reservoir as possible before impounding the dam.

He said that apart from the soil disturbances that took place during the construction of the dam, the decomposition of “millions of tonnes” of biomass in the reservoir was the main cause of the high aluminium levels.

“We recommended in the EIA report that at least 70% of the biomass in the reservoir be removed.

“We stated that if the biomass is not removed, the water will be polluted for at least 10 years.

“The state government did not comply with the recommendation. Instead they just filled up the reservoir without removing one bit of the biomass,” said Luhat, who was a member of the group that drafted the EIA.

He said aluminium levels in the reservoir could be there for the “next five to six years” before the reservoir is cleansed by the water’s natural movement.

The impounding of the dam, the state's first large hydroelectric dam delayed during the Asian Financial Crisis, was only completed five years ago.

When contacted however, Sarawak's Assistant Minister for Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the findings were "doubtful".

Len, who said he could not confirm or deny the validity of the claims, said he had doubts about the "quality" of Luhat's work.

“I worked with him in the past... But I have my doubts about his work,” he said.

When asked, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Datuk Dr Penguang Manggil said the matter was “very technical in nature” and declined to comment “without any substantiated data or evidence”.

The state's Second Minister for Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan could not be reached for comments.

Kidurong assemblyman Chiew Chiu Sing however agreed that the “water must be toxic” from his observation of the lake.

“The state government must conduct a thorough study on what caused vegetation around the lake reservoir to die and make the findings public,” the Sarawak DAP chairman said.

The state government plans to turn the reservoir into a lake resort with floating chalets built around the reservoir and tourists flown in by government-run amphibious planes.

Fresh water is a perennial problem for the 10,000 people who were resettled in Sg Asap in 1998.

Last Saturday, villagers from 15 longhouses there staged a protest over the dirty water coming out of their water pipes.

They added that the taps would be waterless during the dry season. – The Malaysian Insider