No need for water rationing yet in Kedah

ALOR SETAR: The Kedah government will not be carrying out water rationing yet although the levels at three dams are below 50%.

State Housing and Local Government, Water Supply, Water Resources and Energy Committee chairman Datuk Badrol Hisham Hashim (pic) said the total capacity in all the five dams in the state was still sufficient to supply water for domestic and agriculture use.

“Pedu Dam and Ahning Dam are more than 60% full. The level at three other dams – Beris Dam, Muda Dam and the Padang Saga Dam in Langkawi – are less then 50% ,” he said after launching the Tree For a Tree programme organised by Tenaga Nasional Berhad at the Pendang Recreational Park yesterday.

Badrol said cloud seeding was carried out at areas around the dams since last week and would resume again next week.

As of Friday, the water level at Pedu Dam was 91.92m (minimum level is 77.19m), Ahning Dam - 107.05m (81.45m), Muda Dam - 93.86m (88.36m), Beris Dam - 77.27m (68m) and Padang Saga Dam - 17.72m (17.9m).

In Sik, Kedah, chalet owner Mohamad Nasir Mohd Zain was able to repair and strengthen the foundations of the jetty at his Hill Lake View Resort due to the low water level at the Beris Lake.

Mohamad Nasirsaid the water level had subsided about five metres, exposing structures beneath the water surface.

“All these while, even during the dry season, the water level only subsided a little.

“This season is the worst I’ve seen and for the past two months, I’ve been noticing the water level dropping daily,” she said.

A check at one of the pillars beneath a bridge over Beris Lake showed that the water level was at 77m while the watermark for the highest level was at 84m.

A spokesman of the Beris Dam management urged the public not to panic as the water level has not reached a critical stage.

“The water level is at nearly 80m, and water is being released on schedule into Sungai Muda for padi farming and general consumption,” he said.

The concrete faced rockfill Beris Dam is located in a narrow valley of Sg.Beris, 1.6km upstream of the confluence between Sg Muda in the district of Sik, Kedah.

In George Town, the Penang government has underlined three measures to face the “super drought.”

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has proposed that regular cloud seeding activities be carried out in the northern region.

Lim also suggested for all operators to reduce water supply and to provide only sufficient amount of water to meet consumers’ demands. Checks showed that Penang’s Air Itam Dam has a 59.5% capacity while the Teluk Bahang Dam is at 61.1% capacity.