Putrajaya cautions Selangor against politicising water issue

By Yow Hong Chieh

August 11, 2011

Chin said today that consumers could face a far worse water crisis in 2014 than that experienced in 1998 if steps are not taken to address the issue now. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — Putrajaya has urged the Selangor government not to politicise the state’s water woes but work with the federal government instead, repeating its warning that the nation’s richest state will face a water supply crisis in 2014.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin said Selangor should not delay approval for the Langat-2 water treatment plant — which would ensure water supply until 2049 — as this would lead to a 10 per cent water deficit in three years’ time.

“The demand for treated water (in 2014) is expected to rise to 4,907 million litres a day compared to the supply capacity of 4,431 million litres a day,” he said in a statement today.

“These numbers clearly show that the water supply situation will reach a critical stage in 2014 and consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are expected to face far worse than the 1998 water crisis if steps are not taken now to address it.”

Chin said Putrajaya has had to expedite other projects to address this shortfall, including providing alternative supply from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), upgrading the Selangor River Water Treatment Plant and Bernam River Headworks Plant and replacing old pipes.

But he stressed that these “mitigation” projects will not fully support the estimated demand in 2014 and told the Selangor government not to use the state’s ongoing water industry restructuring as an excuse to shelve Langat-2.

State and federal governments have been deadlocked in Selangor since Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took control of the state in 2008, with neither side wanting to give the other control over the critical water industry.

The transfer of water assets is required under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA), which will see all water assets in peninsular Malaysia coming under federal control and leased back to licensees to operate in individual states.

Last January, the Selangor government denied giving Putrajaya the go-ahead for the Langat-2 water treatment plant as claimed by Chin.

State government sources revealed that Selangor officials met ministry officials last December but only agreed to study the “critical path” for both the Langat-2 and Pahang-Selangor water transfer projects before making a decision this month.

The Critical Path Method, developed in the 1950s, is an important tool in project management for scheduling project activities.