RM50mil to fix Mersing water woes

Birds freed: Khaled (second from left) releasing birds during the state level National Day celebrations in Tangkak.

TANGKAK: Johor has allocated at least RM50mil for a water transfer project from Sungai Lengor to fix the water problems in Mersing.

Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said work would be carried out immediately to help rectify the situation that had been affecting more than 11,000 account holders in the district in the past few months.

“The project will see more than 30km of pipeline being installed from Sungai Lengor to the Tenglu water treatment plant.

“This is a short-term solution by the state government to address water woes in Mersing due to the inability of Congok dam to supply water,” he told reporters after attending the state-level Merdeka Day celebrations here yesterday.

He noted that the Federal Government had several long term strategies to resolve water problems in Johor.

“There has be cooperation between Johor and the Federal Government to rectify the matter as huge allocations are needed when it comes to water management,” he said.

The past three years had seen low rainfall due to the El Nino effect, causing the water level at Congok dam to decrease at a worrying rate.

The Government, through the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, is conducting a feasibility study on the proposed dam along Sungai Mersing.

The Congok dam itself does not have a big storage capability as it could only store no more than a million cubic metres. Plans are being carried out to deepen it to double its storage capacity.