JOHOR BARU: Johor’s scheduled water supply disruptions in Pontian and Simpang Renggam are not linked to data centre developments, says Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh.
The state works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman dismissed allegations on social media that data centre developments are causing water disruption as unfounded and slanderous.
He said that no data centre in Simpang Renggam and Benut receives water from the Water Treatment Plant (WTP), nor are there any data centre developments in the area.
“Connecting scheduled water supply disruptions here to data centre developments is entirely untrue and baseless.
“The supply for Simpang Renggam and Benut is managed via the Simpang Renggam WTP, which treats raw water from Sungai Ulu Benut with support from Machap Dam.
“The plant has a maximum capacity of 64 million litres per day (MLD),” he said in a statement here on Tuesday (Feb 17).
Mohamad Fazli added that the ongoing scheduled water disruptions are due to prolonged drought, which has lowered raw water levels.
The Bukit Pasir assemblyman also said that despite recent rainfall, river and dam levels have yet to return to optimal levels.
“To operate the Simpang Renggam WTP at full capacity of 64 MLD using four pumps, the Sungai Benut intake must exceed 4.90m but current levels are around 4.66m, below optimal operational levels.
“This limits pump usage and affects treated water output, necessitating scheduled supply to ensure fair distribution to consumers,” he said.
Mohamad Fazli said the state government, together with the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), has undertaken cloud seeding operations to boost rainfall and increase water levels.
Mohamad Fazli added that the state government remains committed to ensuring a stable water supply for residents while ensuring all industrial developments in Johor are carried out responsibly and sustainably.
He urged the public to rely on official information and avoid spreading speculation that could cause confusion and concern.
