Span: Water supply at major dams still under control

Water supply in major dams in most states is under control and adequate, even though levels at several dams have dropped due to the El Nino phenomenon currently sweeping the country.

National Water Services Commission (Span) Water Regulatory Department executive director Marzuki Mohammad said the current water production and consumption were not at a worrying stage.

"Span has not received any application from water operators to do rationing but we are working with them to monitor the water level at all dams," he said when contacted by Bernama in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said Span would give approval for water rationing if it was necessary.

In Selangor, water supply in seven dams and reservoirs in the state remained consistent and not at a worrying level, as at 8am today.

According to statistics from the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) website, the Langat Dam recorded a capacity of 69.37 per cent or 23.65 million cubic litres, while the Sungai Selangor Dam was at 78.17 per cent (179.8 million cubic litres).

The Batu Dam recorded 77.42 percent (24.74 million cubic litres ); Klang Gates (73.54 percent or 18.63 million cubic litres ); Semenyih (79.74 percent or 47.10 million cubic litres ).

Sungai Tinggi recorded 83.14 percent or 95.20 million cubic litres; Tasik Subang (94.28 percent or 3.96 million cubic litres) and the Sungai Labu retention pond (54.99 percent or 4.53 million cubic litres).

In Malacca, Syarikat Air Melaka Berhad (Samb) chief executive officer Mohd Khalid Nasir said the water level at the Durian Tunggal Dam, Alor Gajah was now reaching the warning stage at 60 percent, while the Asahan Dam, Jasin recorded 98 percent and Jus Dam, Jasin stood at 76 percent capacity.

"The water level at the Durian Tunggal Dam has reached the warning stage because the area has not had rainfall in the last 30 days, however the water there is above critical level and adequate," he said.

Mohd Khalid said in order to ensure sufficient water supply in the state and avoid water rationing, SAMB had pumped 35 million gallons of water daily from Sungai Muar, Johor.

In Kelantan, the Bukit Kwong Dam in Pasir Mas saw its level drop from 13.9 metres mid March to 12.9 metres this week, a spokesperson of the Pasir Mas Department of Irrigation and Drainage said.

In Sabah, state Water Department deputy director Teo Chee Kong said the the reservoir capacity at the Babagon Dam, which supplies water to Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan was at the normal level.

However in Tawau, Tawau Water Department engineer Bahrin Antonis said two of the three water treatment plants in the district namely Jalan Utara Water Treatment Plant and Cinta Mata Water Treatment Plant had reached critical level, after declining by 20 and 60 percent respectively.

"At the moment, the Tawau Water Department has sent its water tankers, to provide water supply to residents in suburban and rural areas," he said.

In Perak, Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the water levels at several major dams in the states had yet to reach a critical stage.

State Public Facilities, Infrastructure, Energy and Water Committee chairperson Zainol Fadzi Paharudin said based on daily monitoring on 44 water treatment plants statewide, only production at the Taiping Headworks Water Treatment Plant was affected so far.

"Until yesterday, the Taiping Headworks Water Treatment Plant has produced 20 million litres water per day, declining by 43 percent from the normal production of 35 million litres per day.

"However, the current supply shortage can be accommodated by treated water from the Gunung Semanggol and Air Terjun Water Treatment Plants," he said.

In Pahang, state Basic Facilities and Environmental Committee chairman Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak said the Chereh Dam, Sungai Lembing which supplies water to consumers in Kuantan was at normal level that is 71.5 metres with a capacity of 260 million cubic millilitres.

He said based on the current situation, only Sungai Jelai, Lipis and Sungai Lepas, Kuantan were experiencing a notable decline in the water level, while the situation at rivers in other districts was reported to be normal.

In Kedah, the water levels at three dams, namely Pedu, Beris and Ahning were still at sufficient and at safe levels, said Muda Agricultural Development Authority deputy general manager (technical) Hok Tek Lip.

He said the Pedu Dam reservoir stood at 80.83 percent, the Muda Dam (51.40 percent) and Ahning Dam (78.96 percent).

In Penang, according to the Penang Water Supply Corporation official website, the capacity reading for Air Itam Dam for today was 64.1 compared with 75.7 percent last month.

Teluk Bahang Dam recorded 66.3 percent, as compared to 72.3 percent last month.

In Negri Sembilan, water supply in six dams in the state was also under control except for the Gemencheh Dam.

Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan said in order to increase the water supply capacity of the Gemencheh Dam, a pump house in Sungai Jelai had been built to pump water into the dam.

In Labuan, the water level in two dams dropped by 25 percent, but still not at a worrying level.

The Labuan Water Department has confirmed that the Kampung Bukit Kuda Dam recorded 13.74 metres, while the Sungai Pagar Dam was at 16.15 metres, above the critical level of 10.18 metres and 11.89 metres.

- Bernama