Selangor government plans to establish a state water commission and create a master plan.
State infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim said the state commission’s purview would not overlap with that of National Water Services Commission (SPAN).
He said the national body would focus more on treated water and sewerage services, while the state commission would comprise all agencies that handled water-related matters.
This would range from raw water and wastewater management as well as flood mitigation and river rejuvenation.
“Water management is a state matter. By having all related agencies under a single body, we will be able to look into implementing projects and addressing water-related matters holistically,” said Izham.
On the water master plan, he said the commission would look into short-, mid- and long-term plans for Selangor as a whole.
“One of the things we are looking into is an underground flood management system.
“This follows my working trip to two cities in Japan, where wastewater from domestic usage and rainwater are channelled underground and away from cities to prevent floods.”
Izham said the study for the master plan, scheduled for early next year, would also look into a comprehensive water and flood management concept involving both Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
“We have met with Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry to present the concept, which is estimated to cost up to RM6bil.
“The master plan will also look into creating a network of reservoirs and lakes to be utilised as alternative water sources,” said Izham, who is also Pandan Indah assemblyman, at the handover ceremony for the Rantau Panjang Pump House in Bestari Jaya, Kuala Selangor.
It was built under Package B of the Water Resources Assurance Scheme (SJAM) at a cost of RM21mil.
The pumping station, which is linked to Hang Tuah 5 Pond, was built to minimise impact when the Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is closed due to pollution of raw water in Sungai Selangor.
It has a capacity of supplying 40 million litres per day (MLD) of raw water from Hang Tuah 5 Pond to the Rantau Panjang WTP intake points.
Izham said the pond could supply raw water to the Rantau Panjang WTP for about 60 days.
Also present were Selangor Deputy State Secretary (Management) Datuk Mohd Yazid Sairi, Air Selangor chief executive officer Adam Saffian Ghazali and State Economic Planning Unit, Macro and Privatisation Section deputy director Hamizam Abdulla Zabidi.
