Melaka to ration water if dams fall below 70% mark

MELAKA: Melaka will begin scheduled water rationing if the capacity at the three dams in the state fall below the 70% mark.

Road works, infrastructure, public amenity and transportation committee chairman Datuk Hameed Mytheen Kunju Basheer said this was to avoid a situation like the 2020 water crisis that had a devastating impact on the people of the state.

“We will no longer wait for the water level at the three dams to dip to a critical point before activating the rationing exercise,” he said.

For now, he said the Durian Tunggal, Jus and Asahan dams were at their full capacity, which means there is no need for water rationing yet.

“The current supply at the three dams can last up to September even if there is no rain.”

He said the state could supply water even up to November if there is water rationing.

However, he said there was a need to look at contingency measures in case the water levels drop.

Hameed Mytheen said the rationing would proceed once the alarm is triggered when the level of water goes below 70%.

This is so that there would be sufficient time for stakeholders to respond, he said after hosting a Hari Raya open house in Masjid Tanah here on Sunday night.

He said rationing would only affect residential users and not commercial areas if it is activated due to a prolonged dry spell.

Melaka has other backup plans such as pumping water from the Ayer Keroh lake and three reservoirs at Tasik Biru in Chinchin, Jasin to the dams if the need arises, he added.

Hameed Mytheen also said that the Jernih dam project is facing some setbacks on land reclamation issues, adding, however, that construction was in progress.

In 2020, Melaka carried out a water rationing exercise that went on for almost three months.

It was implemented in stages, affecting households and industrial areas.