Bekalan Air dan Kesihatan Alam Sekitar in DHO Kota Star

Date : 14 January 2009
DHO Kota Star
Group A

The Bekalan air dan Kesihatan Alam Sekitar(BAKAS) is led by PPKP Md Zaki. BAKAS mainly covers aspects, they are – water supply, solid waste disposal, sewage and toilet and waste water disposal. The function of BAKAS is to build the above necessities in the various villages. Their focus is mainly in the villages and not in urban areas. The programme was launched to reduce the spread of water and food borne diseases.

The objective of the unit is to is to increase the quality of the water in the rural areas and to reduce the number of food and water borne cases. Activities performed by the BAKAS unit include the following

• Reorganizing the data of villages at risk
• Providing qualified houses with Sistem pelupusan air limbahan(SPAL)
• Providing qualified houses with Sistem pelupusan sisa pepejal(SPSP)
• Providing qualified houses with Water supply JKR/KKM project
• Providing qualified houses with Tandas curah
• Choosing 1 village for an integrated SPAL system
• Joining all activities done by the inspectorate unit
• Attending courses to improve knowledge
• Participating in sports and other activities

The water supply project’s purpose is to provide enough clean water supply to the rural population. The project uses simple principles while focusing on a good design, and building and easy maintenance. Sanitary toilets aim at creating a system where by fecal matter can be disposed in a proper way to avoid the spread of disease. The materials needed to make these toilets are provided by BAKAS to those whom are unable to purchase them. Initially the waste water management system and solid waste disposal systems were not given much attention because the unit focused mainly on water supply but currently there is a lot of focus in this area due to its importance.

There are various types of water supplies available. The choice depends on the availability of JKR water supply, affordability and water source. If there is JKR water supply with good pressure then BAKAS merely provides pipes which are then used to connect the main pipes to the houses. This project is a collaboration between JKR and KKM. The cost for the resident is RM 500 which includes the deposit and the pay of the contractors. If there is a water source from the mountain then a gravity feed is created. If there is no other water source available then the underground water source will have to be used. This source is harnessed by a pump which can either be manual or electrical.
Plan for the JKR KKM project

The SPAL system is a system where the water used for washing is removed and channeled to a filter before being release. Before the introduction of this system the water would stagnate and flies and other vectors would breed. This new system can reduce the incidence of food and water borne disease while making the village look better. The system starts at the sink where the water is channeled to a filter near the house. The water from here is then channeled to another collectiopn point where water from three houses meet. This water then passes through another series of filters before being release into a river. upon inspection the system revealed a small problem - if the filter near the house was not cleaned then the whole SPAL would be clogged leading to breeding of vectors. Thus co-operation form the villagers is also needed for the project.

Sistem pelupusan air limbahan(SPAL) which is being constructed

Filtering system in SPAL

The SPSP system waste designed to avoid vectors from breeding in the garbage produced by the village. It is a simple system where the garbage is stored in a large concrete cylinder which is kept closed. When the container is full then rubbish inside is burnt. The problem arises when people are ignorant and still continue with their old ways. There is also a problem where the concrete will start to crack is things like wood are burnt.

Sistem pelupusan sisa pepjal(SPSP)

The ‘Tandas curah’ system was developed for sanitation of the people. It avoids the spread of disease by avoiding contamination of water sources by fecal matter.

Tandas curah
Plan of a tandas curah

The allocation of material for the BAKAS unit per year is around

• Tandas curah – 30-40 units
• Sistem pelupusan air limbahan(SPAL) - 100 units
• Sistem pelupusan sisa pepejal(SPSP) – 90-100 units
• Water supply – 100 units

BAKAS aims at

• Reaching 100% water supply in rural areas
• Preparing utilities which aer suitable for the use of the villagers
• Making sure that all utilities provided work efficiently
• Improving all aspects of hygiene in rural areas