Izham (left) and Mohmad Asari looking at details in the Integrated River Basin Management Plan for review at the workshop in Shah Alam. — KK SHAM/The Star
The Selangor Water Master Plan 2025-2050 is being developed as a holistic document that examines all existing water-related initiatives and identifies any missing or overlapping elements.
Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim said it would also address urgent issues requiring immediate attention, such as climate change and urbanisation.
The idea is to piece together various plans from all water-related agencies such as Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), Air Selangor, Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) and local authorities.
This would also identify missing components to ensure holistic management and use of the state’s water resources, he added.
The first phase is expected to be completed by mid-2026.
“For example, under the Selangor Off-River Storage Scheme, we have found that there are about 185 lakes and ponds not connected to the existing flood management system.
“These can collectively store about 115 million cubic metres of water,” said Izham.
“The plan will look into how we can take advantage of these lakes and ponds for flood mitigation.
“The consultant will also look into the possibility of establishing compact stations that could be used to boost water supply during droughts.
“There are plans to incorporate the Sponge City concept in Shah Alam, so that will also be included in the master plan,” Izham said after launching a workshop by LUAS to review the Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Plan for Selangor’s main river basins (2022-2030).
The reference plan for sustainable planning and management involves three Selangor river basins, namely Sungai Klang, Sungai Langat and Sungai Selangor.
Separately, Izham said the State Economic Planning Unit (Upen) would carry out an inventory of infrastructure which owners could not be traced.
“These comprise roads, slopes, bridges and reservoirs.”
The inventory, he said, was expected to take six months.
“This follows the completion of an inventory and one-off cleaning of drains with untraceable owners.
“The state government spent RM5mil for one-off cleaning of over 500km of such drains, which are a cause of flooding since they have not been maintained for a prolonged period.
“For subsequent maintenance, we have decided that DID will handle those connected to rivers, while local councils will handle those connected to monsoon drains,” said Izham.
Also present at the workshop held in Shah Alam was LUAS director Dr Mohmad Asari Daud.
