BY EDWARD RAJENDRA

Serjeet showing a map of the drainage system in Taman Melawis. He is standing at the point where the two monsoon drains meet at the culvert opposite Sluice Gate 38 in Jalan Tepi Sungai. During heavy rains, the water backflows into the residential area. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

AN ALLOCATION of RM10.4mil was approved by the Selangor government for flood mitigation works at Taman Melawis in south Klang early last year.

However, the project failed to take off.

The residents are living with uneasiness as water will rise at their front porch, backyard and kitchen after a 45-minute continuous downpour.

Part of the main road of Jalan Emas -- from the cross sections of Jalan Gangsa and Lorong Besi 2 until the Jalan Emas junction with Jalan Besi, becomes impassable and the streets in the neighbourhood will be flooded.

Taman Melawis has an estimated 450 residential units with 24 shoplots.

Failure to resolve the flooding problem at the large residential area could result in more neighbourhoods surrounding it to be inundated during downpours, affecting more people, said the residents.

An earth cut drain has not been maintained and is overgrown with lalang.

They questioned why the flood mitigation plans did not take off despite the allocation.

While Klang Municipal Council (MPK), which was involved in the coordination plans, had been silent on this matter, Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) said it had finalised a blueprint for the mitigation works.

It said that it was imperative to widen the monsoon drain and build new cross drainage culvert under a rail track across to Lorong Sembilang 8E in Jalan Tepi Sungai.

Taman Melawis Residents Association (TMRA) members are perplexed that DID Klang had not implemented the project that would help alleviate floods for a few hundred properties, including residential houses, schools and businesses.

TMRA treasurer N. Kaladevi, 50, said there was a growing frustration among the people over the inability of MPK and DID to start the project and “worse still, no town hall meetings were held to inform the people.”

“Politicians on both sides of the divide have been using the flashflood issue as a spring board for the next general election. We are fed up. Until now, ratepayers living in the area have not been told what is going on with the mitigation plan.

A resident, Yeo Tong Keong showing the height he has to raise the front entrance to keep flood waters out.

“It seems like the project has been placed on the back-burner, but we are still asking for it to be presented to all Taman Melawis residents. We want an explanation because we see flood mitigation plans for other areas are ongoing,” said Kaladevi.

Restaurant owner Lam Lay Poh, 42, said the flashfloods in Jalan Lintang Gangsa affected a row of shoplots that forced owners to raise their house compound in the front and back.

“One of the worst hit areas is Jalan Emas where heavy rain will see floodwaters rise to at least 30cm, resulting in traffic being unable to pass,” she said, adding that some visitors were stranded because their vehicles got stuck in the water.

Flashfloods are usually at its worst when drainage networks are overwhelmed by intense rainfall, with water gushing from drains in Kampung Menteram and Jalan Turki in Central Teluk Pulai and Lorong Raja Haji Othman behind Asrama Yayasan Selangor that flows into Taman Melawis.

Flooding occurs as soon as the two concrete box culverts opposite Sluice Gate 38 in Jalan Tepi Sungai overflows together with rapid swelling of rainwater within the area, which back up into the lowest points of Taman Melawis.

Resident Ariffin Arshad said after a row of houses was built in the 1980s in Jalan Emas, the flashflood situation worsened.

One of the two monsoon drains at the end of Lorong Loyang, parallel to the railway track. It has been proposed that the drain be widened to accommodate a larger volume of water.

He said the concreting of the area, where the row of houses was built, had created an impervious surface making it difficult for the water to drain into the soil.

“Because the land area has been covered with houses, the water runoff goes into residential properties that are on lower ground,” he noted.

Daveki Segaran Nair urged DID to get the project moving as with the phenomenal high tide last year combined with rain, it had almost caused water to breach into her kitchen and car porch area.

History of Taman Melawis

A long-time resident, Serjeet Singh said Taman Melawis was a flood plain, and coupled with rain and high tides, it was vulnerable to flooding.

Serjeet, who is a former Water Works Department technical officer, said that based on land elevation reports, Taman Melawis’ lowest point was 1.83m above sea level while the highest point was 2.02m and was among the flattest area in Klang.

He said Taman Melawis was known as Kampung Attap in the 1940s and the British government zoned it for agricultural use to allow it to remain as a flood plain.

“Only after 1965, owners of two parcels of land began building brick houses. One area was named Heng Luing Garden and the other Swee See Garden.

“Both developers faced challenges in building drains as the area was an impounding lake,” he said.

Part of Jalan Emas in Taman Melawis gets flooded during a downpour.

He said both neighbourhoods had an official name change in the 1970s to Taman Melawis. A swamp or flood plain mixed with plantation areas had turned into a residential area,” he added.

“Floodwaters is unable to drain fast enough because of the gradual low terrain. Consequently, there is waterlog on the roads and homes,” said Serjeet, who used to supervise laying of water pipes in the area.

He added that some parts of the monsoon drain from Kampung Martin, off Jalan Teluk Pulai, was in desperate need of upgrading as it was still an earth-cut drain that was heavily silted with overgrown weed and grass.

Climate change, said Serjeet, caused more frequent rain and it was time the authorities confronted problems of inadequacy of drainage network.

“Old drains built in the 1960s are shallow, it is now more like a scupper drain,” he lamented.

Remedial works to start next year

Works to alleviate flashfloods in Taman Melawis, including the building of a concrete diversion culvert under a rail track and the widening 400m of a monsoon drain, will begin in the first quarter of 2018, said Selangor Infrastructure, Public Amenities and Agro-Based Industry Committee chairman Zaidy Abdul Talib.

KTM Bhd’s technical concerns had delayed the implementation of the project, he explained.

“According to the state DID, the construction of the proposed concrete diversion culvert under the rail track involves micro-tunnelling. It is a trenchless method.

“KTM’s approval of the suggested flood mitigation plan is taking time. I have been made to understand that the proposed micro-tunnelling and earth works have to go through various sections at KTM for compliance, and this will take a few months,” he said.

Micro-tunnelling is a proven technology that provides a cost-efficient alternative to placing culverts under rail tracks.

Zaidy said houses, businesses and schools remained at risk of facing flashfloods until regulatory approvals were sorted out.

“Our mitigation work was due to have started much earlier,” he said.

“Based on technical studies, the flashfloods at Taman Melawis must be resolved as the neighbouring residential areas across Jalan Teluk Pulai could be affected due to a change in weather patterns.

“We are worried that intense rain combined with the tidal phenomenon could see flashfloods pushing up to Jalan Turki in Central Teluk Pulai,” he added.