‘Conserve water due to critical level’

ALOR SETAR: As the dry spell borders on critical levels, Kedahans have been warned to conserve water and avoid open burning.

Kedah public works, natural resources, water supply and water resources and environment committee chairman Mohamad Yusoff @ Munir Zakaria said while the situation is manageable on the mainland, the same cannot be said about Pulau Langkawi.

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“Things are okay for now on the mainland but not Langkawi.

“There is enough water in the two dams to cater to those on the mainland.

“In Langkawi, it is critical as there has been no rain. In some places on the island, there has been no water at all.

“Our concern is at the Bukit Malut Dam in Langkawi, where the water level, which stands at 67m, is nearing the critical level of 60m.

“The problem is further compounded by leakages in the subsea waterpipe supplying the archipelago with water from the mainland via Perlis.

“Repairs are ongoing but it cannot be carried out daily due to the tidal window,” he said.

Mohamad Yusoff said there is a fleet of 91 lorries to supply water to affected areas all day, mainly to settlements at the end of the pipelines on higher ground.

“Our main focus is on areas with critical water supply disruption, meaning those without water at all during this dry spell.

“If needed, we will increase the number of lorries, especially with the coming festive season,” he said.

Mohamad Yusoff also expressed concern over the frequency of open burning, especially on the mainland, which could lead to fires.

“The people should be mindful that open burning can become full blown in this heat.

“This year alone, there have been 1,138 cases of open burning.

“People need to realise that this is an offence and they can be fined,” he said.

In Penang, as the weather continues to heat up, infrastructure, transport and digital committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the state has plans to ensure there is enough water to deal with future dry spells.

“Currently, the expanded Mengkuang Dam is able to release 600 million litres per day (MLD) to meet the shortfall of abstraction of raw water from Sungai Muda.

“In order to produce 1,000 MLD for daily treatment, the state government has proposed through the Federal Government to construct a new 440 MLD Lahar Yooi Pumping Station to enable efficient refilling of the Expanded Mengkuang Dam during wet seasons.

“The state government through Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) will ensure availability of continuous flow of raw water and actively monitor the inflow throughout the year including efforts to protect water catchment areas beyond the boundary of Penang.

“This will ensure that the level of raw water at Sungai Muda is sufficient to meet 85% of water demand in Penang,” he said.

Zairil said as a short-term plan, Mengkuang Dam being a reserve dam for the drought season, is able to release 600 MLD daily for about 129 days.

On long-term plans, he said the Sungai Perak water transfer is one of the alternative sources for Penang,

“We hope this project can be expedited for long-term water security in the state.

“The state government through PBAPP will implement water supply projects under the Water Contingency Plan 2030 to increase treated water production capacity before 2030.

“Among the projects include plans to build an additional water treatment plant (WTP) to extract water from Sungai Muda, a WTP at Mengkuang Dam to be able to use the water stored there and tapping into unutilised water sources such as Sungai Kerian and Sungai Perai,” added Zairil.