No water crisis despite heat, says SPAN

PETALING JAYA: The temperature is rising and both river and dam levels are falling, but there is no fear of a water shortage, says National Water Services Commission (SPAN) chairman Charles Santiago.

He admitted that some rivers are recording depleting water levels because of the weather.

“We then have to release dam water, otherwise you will not have enough water at the intake point,” he said.

Santiago said that although the water levels at some dams may appear to have hit critical levels, the situation is not dire as these may actually be smaller dams.

States which may potentially see a problem with water supply have back-up plans.

“Pahang, Kedah and several others have plans in place. If there is no water, they will send water tanks to places which need water.

“The issue of a water crisis does not arise now,” he said, adding that the weather conditions could actually serve as an opportunity to educate people about saving water and reducing wastage.

According to SPAN’s war room dashboard as of April 12, the raw water storage reserves in the Sembrong Barat dam in Johor had hit dangerous levels at 29.99%.

Timah Tasoh in Perlis, Muda in Kedah and Air Itam in Penang have hit warning levels.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has issued level one heatwave alerts for 18 areas across the country, up from 14 the previous day.

Of these, 12 areas are in the peninsula, namely the whole of Perlis, Pulau Langkawi, Pendang, Kuala Muda, Kubang Pasu, Pokok Sena, Sik, Baling, Kulim and Bandar Baharu in Kedah, north-east district of Penang and Gua Musang in Kelantan.

There are three areas in Sarawak, namely Limbang, Mukah and Telang Usang while in Sabah, Beaufort, Tuaran and Tenom are the affected areas.

Level one alert refers to the daily temperature hovering between 35ºC and 37ºC for three consecutive days.