Slight increase in dam level

Joyful deluge: Frequent rains in the last two weeks have been a welcome sight at the Sungai Selangor dam (above) as compared to (below) when the water capacity had dipped to worrying levels.

HULU SELANGOR: Water levels at the Sungai Selangor dam have seen a slight increase after having dipped below 40% of its capacity for the past few months.

As of 8am yesterday, the water level at the dam had hit the 40% mark, according to the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) website.

The Sungai Selangor dam supplies water to over 60% of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor.

Aida Isa, 20, of Kampung Pertak, Kuala Kubu Baru near the dam, said there was finally frequent rain in the area for the past two weeks after a dry season that lasted for almost two months.

“We had water cuts for about two weeks, but now the supply is back to normal,” she said.

A visit to the dam showed that there were patches of fresh grass growing around the dam area.

On March 31, the water level at the dam was at 36.53% while last Wednesday, it rose to 38.97%.

Other dams which showed an improved water level were Sungai Tinggi at 62.6% and Klang Gates at 58.49% – up from 62.05% and 54.24% respectively last week. Selangor began water rationing in early March.

Last week, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the exercise would end this week if the state’s move to pump pond water into Sungai Selangor yielded favourable results, and current weather conditions continued.

Experts, however, had cautioned against its lifting in view of an impending five-month dry spell from June.

In Shah Alam, Selangor Youth and Sports, Infrastructure and Public Amenities Committee chairman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi said the rationing would not be stopped abruptly.

“If and when rationing ends, it will be done in stages.

“Also, the decision on when to stop is still being discussed,” he told reporters during a briefing on the issue yesterday.

Dr Ahmad Yunus said Selangor would be buying 10 new pumps from China, which would arrive in a month, to draw water from mining pools.

Selangor now has nine pumps and has used “less than RM1mil” of its RM10mil allocation for the purpose.

He also dismissed allegations by Klang MP Charles Santiago that the water channelled from the Kampung Hang Tuah mining pool to the Sungai Selangor dam was unsuitable for consumption.

He added that extensive testing had proved otherwise.