Drought leaves 3,000 taps dry in Kedah

 

Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor says water tankers would be operating from 8am to midnight every day to help those affected.

ALOR SETAR: Some 3,000 households in Kedah are without water due to a drought in the state that has affected Sik, Baling, Gurun, Merbok, Tanjung Dawai, Semeling and Bedong among others.

Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the seasonal drought used to occur every year in November but this year has also affected the state since late January until now. It has not rained in most parts of Kedah for the past three weeks.

He said the worst affected areas are those on higher ground or at the farthest reaches of the piped water service.

In a press conference today, Sanusi said with the drop in supply from the water treatment plants in the state, water tankers have been sent to the affected areas and to hospitals as well as other government buildings.

These tankers would be operating from 8am until midnight every day, he added.

He said the whole water tanker exercise will cost the state at least RM3 million or more. He said 24 lorries with 1,200-gallon capacities have been dispatched, including “jumbo” tankers to fill up water tanks and other key infrastructure.

He said the only solution forward was the building of five new water treatment plants (WTPs), of which one has already been awarded by the finance ministry.

Sanusi said the other four have yet to be awarded. He said all five WTPs were supposed to be ready by 2024.

“The most critically needed water treatment plant is for Bukit Selambau, where it would later channel raw water to Merbok and its surrounding areas,” he added.

He also urged the finance ministry to help with the costs of replacing old water pipes, which has contributed to the loss of water over the years. He said non-revenue water, or NRW, stood at 48%.

“We would like the finance ministry to hasten the acceptance letters to those entrusted to carry out the WTP projects. This is the only long-term solution or else we would have to contend with water disruptions for these areas.

“Gunung Jerai is too dry and is unable to supply any water. There’s a saying, even the tigers from the mountain would come down to cool off at the Pelita restaurant below. That’s how bad the drought is,” he said. - FMT