Water woes deepen ahead of CNY

LANGKAWI: With the Chinese New Year celebrations just three days away, residents and tourism players are hoping the water shortage issue on this resort island could be resolved as soon as possible.

Homestay operator Ali Hadi Sjamsul Bahari, 31, said the water shortage has been a perennial problem on the island, without any concrete solution in sight.

“I have three homestays in Ayer Hangat, which is the worst hit area now.

“Luckily, I have installed water tanks and pumps to help boost the water pressure for the past year,” he said.

Ali Hadi urged the related agencies to make it a priority to upgrade the water supply infrastructure on the island so that water problems will no longer be an issue.A budget hotel operator, Nor Athira Abdul Nasir, 28, echoed the same sentiment, stressing it was high time residents and businesses got uninterrupted water supply.

ALSO READ : Dams up north running low

“Langkawi is not only a major tourist spot for locals, but popular among foreign tourists. This water shortage reflects badly on us as a top holiday destination,” she said.

“With the upcoming Chinese New Year, I hope the state government can quickly resolve it as soon as possible,” she said.

A resident, who wanted to be known only as Valideshu, said her house in Kisap was without water for several days.

“We are left without any other options but to stay at a hotel for a few days,” she said.

State water supply and resources committee chairman Mohamad Yusoff@Munir Zakaria blamed the supply shortage on the current El Nino phenomenon.

“It’s the drought season. The supply of raw water from the mainland had decreased and at the same time, the water level in Sungai Melaka also dropped, posing a big challenge for Syarikat Air Darul Aman to treat enough water,” he said.

He added that a leak in the undersea pipe transporting treated water from the Sungai Baru water treatment plant in Perlis to Langkawi has further complicated the situation.

“We sent five water tankers from the mainland and additional three tankers that can fill up to 1,200 gallons (5.45 cubic metres) each to Langkawi,” he said.

Mohamad Yusoff said other measures taken included using a generator to supply electricity to Bukit Malut to increase raw water supply from 30 million litres per day (MLD) to 45MLD to the Padang Saga water treatment plant during the festive season.

“As the long-term solution, the state government is looking at upgrading the water infrastructure on the island,” he added.