State FMM members seek alternative water supply sources

PETALING JAYA: Industries in Selangor are stepping up efforts to conserve water and seek alternative sources of supply as the state’s water woes show no signs of abating soon.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers’ (FMM) Selangor branch chairman Datuk Soh Thian Lai said members were already running water conservation projects and seeking alternative sources.

“One of the fastest and most used methods by members is to instal a system to draw water from the ground.

“A company can be set back by between RM450,000 and RM650,000 to get the system running but it is something that must be done,” he said.

Other methods include harvesting rainwater and enlarging existing reserve tanks to hold water to last at least two days.

Companies are also renting tankers to buy supply from Syabas at prices ranging between RM110.35 and RM149.68 per tanker, inclusive of the RM100 quality testing fee for each vehicle.

Soh disagreed with calls for Syabas to stop providing water in tankers for industrial and commercial users during the rationing period,

He said while domestic consumers were the priority, it did not mean companies should be deprived from buying water.

It was previously reported that a food and beverage company based in Shah Alam required alternative supply of about 120 tankers of water a day at a cost of RM150,000.

If the company does not get the supply, it stands to lose about RM15mil a day in costs and sales as production would be stopped.

Soh said if rationing was extended to industrial areas in the state, it should be one day on and one day off, instead of the two days on, two days off system applicable to domestic users.