Section 2 of Water Services Industry Act 2006 (“WSIA”) defines a septic tank as a basic form of on-site treatment facility consisting of one or more compartments that provides treatment of sewage by means of sedimentation and anaerobic process.
(a) Individual Septic Tank (“IST”) - septic tank that provides treatment of sewage from one (1) individual premise only.
(b) Communal Septic Tank (“CST”) - septic tank that provides treatment of sewage from two or more premises through a common internal sewage piping.
Pursuant to Section 65 (1) (c) of WSIA the owner / occupier / management corporation of the Premises is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of a septic tank.
Yes. Before IWK can proceed to desludge a septic tank, the following document (constituting a contract) will have to be signed by the customer:-
(a) For IST –Individual Septic Tank Desludging Services Docket (“IST Docket”) prepared by IWK to be signed by the customer of the IST i.e. the owner(s) or occupier(s) and/or management corporation or authorized representative of the customer.
(b) For CST - Desludging Services Agreement (for Communal Septic Tank) (“CST Agreement”) prepared by IWK to be signed between IWK and ALL the customers (i.e. owner(s) and/or occupier(s) and/or management corporation of the Premises) sharing the same CST.
(a) For IST - desludged only as and when requested by the customer.
(b) For CST - desludged once every three (3) years as stated in the CST Agreement.
If the charges are not paid within the required period of time as stated in the terms of the IST Docket or the CST Agreement, IWK has the right to take legal action against the customer to recover the outstanding sum.
The customer(s) for CST desludging will also be charged interest on the outstanding sum from the date of default up to the date of actual payment.
You can connect with the approval of SPAN. Any connection without approval is illegal. Section 60 (1) of Water Services Industry Act 2006 (“WSIA”) clearly states that “No person shall, without the prior written permission of the Commission:-
a) make or cause or permit any private connection pipe, drain or sewer to connect directly or indirectly to any public sewer or public sewerage treatment works; or
b) close up, obstruct, stop or deviate any public sewer”.
Section 60 (2) of WSIA provides that “The Commission may –
a) order any person contravening subsection (1) to discontinue the use of , or demolish or otherwise remove, any obstruction, private connection pipe, drain or sewer in contravention of that subsection; or
b) connection pipe, drain or sewer”.
Connection of a private pipe to a public sewer without permission is also an offence under Section 60 (4) of WSIA attracting a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months or to both.
Yes, IWK in compliance with PDPA has provided our Privacy Notice via hardcopy to our customers. The Privacy Notice can also be accessed at IWK’s official website (www.iwk.com.my).
If you would like to make any enquiries in relation to your personal data, you may contact our Customer Relations Department Compliance Officer at 03-27801100 or you may also email us at compliance@iwk.com.my.
The law, Section 67 (1) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 states that:-
“The owner, management corporation or occupier of any premises to whom sewerage services is provided shall be deemed, upon the provision of sewerage services to that premises, to have contracted with the service licensee providing sewerage services for the provision of sewerage services”.
This therefore means, once sewerage service has been provided to the Customer’s premises by IWK, the Customer is considered to have entered into a contract with IWK.
The law, Section 88 (1) (b) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (“WSIA”) states that:
“Any sum of money in respect of the provision of sewerage services, shall be payable, within thirty days from the date of presentation of the bill, to the service licensee and if such sum is not so paid, the sum shall be recoverable by the service licensee through civil action in court”.
Therefore, if the Customer fails to pay the outstanding sewerage services charges to IWK within 30 days as stated in WSIA, IWK has the right to proceed with legal suit against the Customer to recover the outstanding sewerage services charges.
Pursuant to Section 67 (1) of the Water Services Industry Act 2006, the owner, management corporation or occupier of any premises to whom sewerage services is provided is liable to pay the sewerage services charges to IWK.
As such, the responsibility to pay the sewerage charges is on the owner, management corporation or occupier of any premises to whom sewerage services is provided by IWK.
a) The Regulation
The law, Regulation 12 (1) of the Sewerage Services (Charges) Regulations 1994 states that:
“Any user who sells or transfers any premises in respect of which sewerage charges have been incurred for sewerage services as provided under the Act, shall continue to be liable for the payment of all such sewerage charges payable in respect of the premises unless prior notice has been given to the sewerage services contractor of such sale or transfer”.
The Customer is to inform IWK of any changes with regards to the ownership of the property. If no notice on the transfer of ownership of the premises (transfer of property) has been given to IWK, IWK will continuously bill the Customer who has sold or transferred the premises to the purchaser or transferee.
Therefore, it is important that the Customer informs IWK once the Sale and Purchase Agreement / transfer of ownership of the premises (transfer of property) is completed and to ensure that there is no outstanding / unpaid sewerage services bill on the premises. This would enable IWK to open a new sewerage account under the name of the new owner and bill him / her accordingly.
b) The Bar Council Circular No. 136/2012
Through a Bar Council Circular No. 136/2012, IWK has requested lawyers’ assistance for outstanding sewerage charges to be settled by the seller of a property before the transfer of ownership is completed by specifying it in the Sale and Purchase Agreements. The lawyers are to also inform IWK on the transfer of ownership by providing IWK with the particulars of the new owner together with a copy of the Sale and Purchase Agreement.
IWK can execute the judgment using the following modes:-
i) Writ of Seizure and Sale (WSS)
With the assistance of the Court Bailiff, IWK can seize the Customer’s property and movable belongings which will be auctioned off at a public auction in order to settle the judgment debt..
ii) Judgment Debtor Summons (JDS)
The Customer will be called to Court to be examined by the Judge to assess the Customer’s ability to settle the judgment debt. If the Customer is a company, an officer of that company will be called to be examined on the company’s ability to settle the judgment debt.
iii) Bankruptcy Proceedings
If the Customer is an individual, IWK can file bankruptcy proceedings against the Customer if the judgment debt, including interests and costs is RM30,000.00 or above.
iv) Winding up Proceedings
If the Customer is a company, IWK can file winding up proceedings against the company if the judgment debt including interests and costs is more than RM500.00.
Yes. The names of individual Customers who fail to settle their outstanding sewerage bills will be uploaded into the Credit Reporting Agency’s database as a Defaulter and the status will be updated once the outstanding sewerage charges are settled.