Rains in Sabah ensuring dependable supply of water

KOTA KINABALU: Rains over many parts of Sabah in the past week have assured a sufficient water supply, particularly for the state’s west coast.

The rains since April 9 increased levels at the Babagon dam and Sungai Moyog in Penampang, said Sabah Water Department deputy director Teo Chee Kang.

He added that the water level at the dam had risen to 112.1m from 111.7m in recent days.

“We are still far away from the lowest level of 102m at the height of the drought in 1998,” Teo said in an interview.

He said the higher water level at Sungai Moyog has enabled the department to increase its raw water intake there from 75 million litres to about 100 million litres per day.

Teo said together with the 120 million litres daily from the dam, water production was now at 215 million litres per day, sufficient for the state capital, Penampang and its surrounding areas.

“We anticipate more rainfall in May. We are quite confident that we have enough water to see us through until June when this dry spell is expected to end,” he added.