GEORGE TOWN: Federal authorities should not wait for a formal request to begin cloud seeding over the Sungai Muda basin, which is currently at “dangerous levels”, Chow Kon Yeow said.
The Penang Chief Minister said cloud seeding should be carried out in light of the dire situation.
While the state could raise the matter, he noted that the decision to carry out cloud seeding rests with the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), which is monitoring the situation.
“With no signs of recovery, cloud seeding should be carried out if necessary.
“Because it is upstream, not in Penang, it would have to be done in Kedah.
“They should not wait for requests,” he said yesterday.
Last Thursday, the Sungai Muda water level fell to 1.27m at the Lahar Tiang intake, below the safe level of 2m, partly due to irrigation demand at the start of the padi planting season.
This prompted the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) to reduce drawing 1,300 million litres of raw water per day (MLD) to about 1,000 MLD.
PBAPP chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said the current situation has limited water drawing capacity by about 30%.
In response to this, he said PBAPP activated its contingency plan by tapping the Mengkuang Dam, with 300 MLD channelled to support the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant.
The plant produces about 1,100 MLD of treated water daily for Penang’s five districts.
“We activated our Sungai Muda Contingency Plan and began drawing water from the Mengkuang Dam to ensure sufficient raw water supply to the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant.
“Sungai Muda accounts for more than 80% of PBAPP’s raw water supply,” he said.
He added that the move had averted water supply disruptions to about 465,000 consumers in Seberang Perai and on the island for now.
However, Pathmanathan said PBAPP remained constrained by the Mengkuang Dam’s maximum drawdown capacity of 600 MLD, compared with the Sungai Dua plant’s daily requirement of about 1,300 MLD.
He added PBAPP would continue maximising extraction from Sungai Muda while supplementing supplies from the expanded Mengkuang Dam.
Meanwhile, other key dams are also depleting. The Air Itam Dam fell to 55.2% yesterday, down from 95.2% in January. The Teluk Bahang Dam has dropped to 75.1%, while the Muda Dam in Kedah has receded to 84%.
