Selangor disputes Syabas data, to commission independent study

SOON WE WILL KNOW THE TRUTH. BN HAS ALWAYS BEEN TRYING TO UNDERMINE THE SELANGOR PAKATAN GOVERNMENT. SYABAS IS A UMNO CRONY - WILL ONLY SPEAK ON UMNO/BN FAVOUR.

SO, GET THE INDEPENDENT REPORT IMMEDIATELY SO THAT WE, THE RAKYAT KNOW WHO IS LYING?

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Government will be commissioning its own water demand management study to ascertain the amount of water used by the consumers in the state at present and in the future.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Dato Seri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the current datas provided by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) may not be accurate in forecasting the needs of water consumers in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya.

The state is made to believe that the Federal Government relied on a “National Water Resources Study (NWRS)” which was commissioned by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in 2000. In fact, the Pahang-Selangor Water Transfer Project is also based on the study.

It has to be pointed out that the NWRS estimates of per capita water demand are not based on the Malaysian Water Association's "Design Guidelines for Water Supply Systems" as we understand it.

Instead, they use a “Water Requirements Approach”, which is based on assumptions of national GDP growth amongst others, variables of which would have surely changed based on the global unstable economic market that has since affected Malaysia.

It is interesting to note the NWRS estimates for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur of up to 500-1224 litres of water consumed per capita per day (l/c/d) in 2010, as compared with per capita water consumptions reported for major cities of the world, such as Singapore (328 l/c/d), Sydney (214 l/c/d) and even New York City (420 l/c/d).

“We therefore have reason to believe that these demand estimates are inflated. If so, the basis to justify the Pahang-Selangor project is itself questionable,” said the Menteri Besar.

The statement made by chief executive officer of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) yesterday (20th July 2010) that the volume amount of water produced is insufficient to cater to the steep demand for water must be substantiated with their version of water demand projections.

The state reiterates that our demand projections showed there is more than sufficient water produced to cater to the needs of consumers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

The design capacity of all water treatment plants will be able to meet these demand growths. Furthermore, upgrading of water treatment plants to meet optimum production capacity is already in the process of being completed, hence there is no need to make a hasty decision on a multi-billion dollar project.

“Until a more transparent and detailed study on water demand is conducted, the only reasons that can account for the discrepancy of figures between the Federal Government and the Selangor government are either, one, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur consumers indeed use a large amount of water even higher than other developed cities of the world; two, that indeed Syabas has been unable to contain its gross water losses due to Non-Revenue Water (NRW); or three, the figures upon which we are relying are actually problematic,” said the Menteri Besar.

Instead of promoting one mega-project after another to sustain water demand, a water-demand management approach must be adopted by the Federal Government in their planning projections.

The state stresses that there is sufficient water supply for consumers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur but whilst taking this position, we also promote water conservation and encourage prudent consumption, water recycling, rainwater harvesting, reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and exploring alternative water resources. - Sekretariat Akhbar Kerajaan Negeri Selangor