COVER FEATURE
SEWERAGE RELATED
RESEARCH IN MALAYSIA
By Prof Ir. Haniffa Hamid
Chief Operating Officer, Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd
S
ewerage services in Malaysia have
progressed tremendously over the last
two decades. Primary sewage treatment
using septic tanks has evolved to regional sewage
collection networks and mechanized treatment
systems that provide secondary treatment using
biological processes to produce cleaner effluent.
This advancement is driven by urbanization and
modernization to safeguard the environment
and public health. Such progress is only possible
through research and development (R&D) and
the application of science and technology. Indah
Water Konsortium (IWK) together with research
institutions, governing agencies for sewerage
services and environmental protection in Malaysia
play a concerted role in sewerage research
initiatives that are needed to further improve
sewerage services in Malaysia. A bird’s eye-view
on the research scope for the sewerage industry
Sewage Treatment Plant
is illustrated in Figure 1. This article will highlight
IWK’s R&D initiatives over the years, the key
findings and the way forward.
OVERVIEW ON IWK’S R&D STRATEGIES &
APPROACH
IWK’s R&D initiatives began in 1998 with
Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti
Putra Malaysia (UPM) to carry out research on
sewage and sludge treatment respectively. Since
then IWK’s R&D Programme had evolved to
comprise structured R&D collaborations with
other local research institutions as the core of
IWK’s R&D programme; pilot trials of new and
emerging technologies; in-house studies that
include desktop survey, operational investigations
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