Folks save water in Johor towns

JOHOR BARU: A number of residents and businesses in Pasir Gudang have already begun conserving water as they are an­­­xious about a repeat of last year’s scheduled water supply that went on for four months.

Assistant engineer Ainaa Azhar (pic), 23, who works in the Tebrau industrial area, said she had been constantly reminding her colleagues not to waste water, especially during the dry spell.

“It was tough for us last year when there was a limited supply of water from August to Decem­ber.

“We were given water supply only two times a week, where a truck would supply water to our office,” she said.

A resident staying in Taman Rinting, Nur Anis Maressa, 25, has started storing water in containers in anticipation of a repeat of last year’s experience, when her residential area was affected and taps went dry for a certain period.

“We had to store water in a large water contai­ner.

“We are doing it now in case there is no water,” she said, adding that so far she has not faced any water shortages.

Johor Public Com­plaints Centre supervisor Syed Othman Syed Abdullah said no complaints had been received so far “but I am urging people to start saving water as a precaution in case of water rationing”.

SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd corp­orate com­munications head Jamaluddin Jamil said they would try their best to not implement scheduled water supply or water rationing, despite the fact that storage at the Sungai Layang dam had dropped to a critical level.

“The water level in the dam is currently at 19.90m. The critical mark is 23.50m.

“We are monitoring the dam. Water rationing is the last resort,” he said.

He noted that the Sungai Layang dam supplies water to 580,000 consumers, mostly industrial users, in Pasir Gudang and Masai, and several parts of Johor Baru.