Malaysians today have gotten used to getting a clean supply of water the moment we turn on our taps, and it has caused us to gradually forget the importance of the source of this water - our rivers.

In April alone, there were several pollution cases in our rivers such as the oil spills in the Johor River, or the pollution in Sungai Semenyih which has caused multiple water disruptions. These are not accidents; all these cases are caused by some irresponsible parties purposely dumping their waste into the river. Perhaps they want to save cost? Perhaps they simply feel that it is too troublesome to throw their waste in the right place?

If we look at the big picture, the cost these irresponsible parties can save is minuscule when compared to the cost suffered by society as a whole. Yet, this large cost is not reflected in their eyes.

When our rivers, in other words, the source of our water are polluted, our water treatment plants will be affected. If the pollution levels are high enough, it can even cause the treatment plants to shut down. This means that you would not be getting water in your homes. This has happened multiple times over the years, so you cannot say that the cleanliness of the rivers is not your concern.

Many of us have experienced the effects of these water disruption first hand. Shops stay closed, bottled water are sold-out everywhere, and many of our daily activities cannot be done. Life comes to a standstill for a few days, all because there was someone who polluted our rivers.

Water is very important, but many of us are not cherishing it since it is cheap and can easily be obtained. The water disruptions helped remind people of the importance of water, but only for a short period of time.

One may think that with the high rainfall in Malaysia, we might never run out of water. Think carefully, will the rain always fall straight into our dams? In the end, the rain will go into our rivers before we collect it. Therefore, no matter how much rain we get, it makes no differences because the water is still polluted. We can only use and drink clean water, so if our rivers are dirty, the amount of clean water we get might actually be less despite our high rainfall.

The problems are expected to become even more serious with our impending dry season. This is because when the water levels in the river are reduced, even a little pollution can cause the concentration levels of the pollutant to become too high, and consequently cause water treatment plants to close down.

As long as nothing is done to properly protect our rivers, our water supply will always be in danger. Currently, we are unable to achieve this as there are no clear rights to the river and the land around the river. How much effort can we see being put into river protection? Situations like these are allowed to go on because people do not care enough about our rivers, and this makes it appear as if there are no problems.

The first step to solve such a problem is to realise how important the river actually is. Simply informing and reminding the people around you about the current situation of our rivers would be a huge step forward. Let us all play our part in protecting the environment.

NAH KOK WAI is research and policy executive, Forum Air Malaysia.