JOHOR BARU: Several water treatment plants (WTPs) in Johor affected by low raw water levels and high ammonia content are gradually resuming operations, with supply restoration efforts continuing in Pontian, Kluang and surrounding areas.
State works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh (pic) said four WTPs were affected, including the Sungai Skudai plant, which has been shut since Friday (Feb 6).
"God willing, operations at Sungai Skudai will resume at 50% capacity today after tests showed ammonia levels are now within acceptable limits," he said on Monday (Feb 9).
The plant has a production capacity of 50 million litres per day (MLD).
Fazli said Johor Baru consumers were not affected as water supply had been supported by the Semanggar and Sungai Layang WTPs, resolving the issue in the city.
The Bukit Pasir assemblyman added that challenges remain in other areas, including Lok Heng, where nine MLD are required.
"We have been pumping additional raw water from Sungai Lukah to support the Lok Heng system," he said when met on the sidelines of the Johor Dialogue forum here.
He said 26MLD was required in Sembrong Timur, with the affected WTP currently operating at 50% capacity.
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"For this area, supply is being supported through the Sembrong Barat and Kahang WTPs while treatment processes continue," he added.
Fazli said the Machap WTP in Kluang was among the latest facilities affected by insufficient raw water intake.
"Because of limited inflow at Machap, we are currently processing water from the Yong Peng WTP at about four MLD.
"This afternoon, I will be visiting Machap to oversee efforts to pump water from the central area of the reservoir," he said.
He added that the operation was expected to increase production by an additional 20MLD, noting that the Machap WTP has a full capacity of 60MLD but is currently operating at below 30%.
"God willing, we will be able to add 20MLD today," he said.
Fazli said discussions had been held with the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), and early cloud seeding operations were expected to be carried out soon.
"The earliest we expect cloud seeding to take place is this Wednesday (Feb 11), particularly in areas such as Machap, Upper Layang and surrounding locations," he said.
He added that water supply issues in Pontian stemmed from Gunung Pulai, which has limited catchment inflow, while problems in Kluang and Simpang Renggam were linked to the Machap reservoir.
"The Machap WTP usually draws water from Sungai Benut, but river levels are low. Normally, we supplement this with water from the Machap reservoir, but the reservoir is currently flooded, with water levels below the sluice gates," he said.
As a result, Fazli said water had to be extracted from the middle of the reservoir, with authorities targeting an additional 20MLD.
"This afternoon, we will decide on the rapid release of water from the Machap reservoir directly into Sungai Benut," he added.
Fazli said between 1,000 and 2,000 accounts were affected in the Lok Heng area, while about 4,000 accounts in Kluang, including areas such as Chamek, Niyor and Paloh, remained impacted depending on reservoir water levels.
He also expressed appreciation to several states for assisting Johor by providing water tankers.
"We are grateful to Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Kedah and Pahang for lending their tankers to support our operations," he said.
Currently, he said, 46 water tankers are operating mainly in Kota Tinggi, Kluang and Batu Pahat, with an additional 15 deployed to cover Simpang Renggam and Kluang.
"We are also supplying bottled water for household use," he added.
On Wednesday (Feb 4), Fazli said that of the 16 dams across Johor, four were at levels that require close attention, being under 60%.
The dams, including Upper Layang (46.89%), Lower Layang (60.33%), Pulai 1 (47.63%) and Gunung Pulai (56%), fall under the Johor Water Regulatory Body.
