Demand for clean water in Kelantan more than water operator can produce now, Parliament told

KUALA LUMPUR: The demand for clean water in Kelantan is much higher than the volume its water operator can produce, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

The Energy Transition and Public Utilities Minister said water operators there could only provide up to 514.7 million litres of water daily while the demand was at 584.4 million litres per day.

“Non-revenue water (NRW) in the state also amounted to 54.5%,” he said during Minister's Question Time (MQT) on Thursday (March 7).

He was responding to a supplementary question by Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PN-Rantau Panjang) who asked about the government’s long-term plans to build facilities to tackle floods in the state.

Fadillah said cooperation was needed between state governments and water operators to resolve issues on water treatment plants, adding that the main issue in Kelantan was a lack of said facilities.

“At the federal level, we only help with water supplies but the plant has to be prepared by the state government,” he said.

He also pointed out the RM500mil allocation announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to solve Kelantan's water woes, clarifying that it was a loan and not a grant.

Fadillah said the recent adjustment of water tariffs will also help state governments to build water treatment plants.

“If we provide the supplies but there’s no facilities, we still can’t give the people clean water,” he said.

Earlier, Fadillah said the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) was also developing the National Water Balance Management System (Nawabs) at 19 river basins.

He said the programme was to ensure rivers remained as water sources while also including mitigation and early measures in case of emergencies, including drought predictions two months prior to any incidents, among others.

“Currently, works are already completed at seven river basins and operating, while nine others are expected to be completed in 2027,” he said.

“The DID is also monitoring 25 river dams to ensure there is sufficient water supplies for domestic and agricultural purposes,” he added.

Fadillah was replying to an earlier question by Siti Zailah who asked about preparations for droughts.