All pig farms in Kampung Selamat, Tasek Gelugor, have been sending livestock waste to a biogas plant in Ampang Jajar since 4 May, the Penang state legislative assembly heard today, Malay Mail reported.
The arrangement keeps livestock waste out of the drains that flow into Sungai Kereh, said state Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman H’ng Mooi Lye. The Penang Veterinary Services Department (JPVPP) also pours Useful Microbes Activated Solution (UMAS) into public drains in Kampung Selamat every week.
“These mitigation measures help control pollution and reduce odour in the area. JPVPP is also inspecting pig farms and taking enforcement action to ensure breeders comply with livestock waste management requirements,” he said.
H’ng (PH-Jawi) was replying to Bukhori Ghazali (PN-Pinang Tunggal), who asked what the state has done about odour pollution in Sungai Kereh and which standards it uses to judge the results. The reply came at the second meeting of the fourth session of the 15th Penang state assembly. In its report of the same sitting, Sinar Harian put the yearly allocation for the weekly UMAS work at RM6,000.
The waste sent to Ampang Jajar feeds an anaerobic digestion system, which breaks organic matter down without oxygen to produce methane that can be used as a renewable energy source, Business Today noted in May, when the state said pig farming was not the only source of the pollution. Records from the Penang Department of Environment listed seven complaints on water pollution and foul odour from 2024 up to May this year.
Site inspections at the time also found drains choked with aquatic weeds, which may have slowed water flow and fed the smell.
On the standards used, H’ng said Regulation 25(2) of the Pig Farming Licensing Regulations (Penang) 2020 requires licence holders to keep ammonia gas inside enclosed pens below 20 parts per million (ppm) and hydrogen sulphide below five ppm.
Meter readings taken inside the enclosed pens stayed within those limits, he added. The readings cover the air inside the pens only, and do not stand for the water quality index or the odour level in Sungai Kereh.
JPVPP will keep monitoring waste deliveries to the biogas plant, carry out the weekly UMAS applications and step up enforcement against breeders who fail to comply.
The state also plans to clear accumulated sediment from Parit Cina and Sungai Kereh from the first quarter of 2027, to improve water flow and cut pollution in both waterways.
