It is worrying to note that the water level at the Sungai Selangor Dam, which services over 60% of households in the Klang Valley is receding at an alarming rate.
The current reading of 35.69% (as of July 25) is way below the 37-38% level when water rationing was called off on May 1. Since then, rainfall has been irregular.
The months of June and July were declared the driest in 20 years based on historical data by the Meteorological Department. This situation will continue for some time as we await the rainy season after the monsoonal change somewhere in September.
With the resurgence of the haze in Peninsular Malaysia, water consumption is expected to increase as people use more water to keep themselves hydrated and to cool down.
While we might experience reduced water consumption in the Klang Valley when many balik kampung for Hari Raya, water shortages will resurface once everyone returns.
As of today, no government agency has announced any mitigation measures in regards to this problem. Maybe cloud seeding can be considered, to clear off the haze at the very least.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has reported that the haze will persist until September due to open burning activities in Central Sumatra, Indonesia. Once again, no concrete solution has been announced to solve this issue.
The public needs more information on the current water situation in Selangor.
The amount of water being extracted from ex-mining pools; the success rate of previous cloud seeding operations; as well as data on daily treated water production versus daily water consumption must be made public.
With the information, the public can be more mindful of their water consumption and thus reduce water demand.
In addition, government agencies will have more time to plan and implement mitigation plans in order to avoid acute water shortages.
Political games and fingers pointing must be put aside in order to solve this problem. All stakeholders must communicate and work together as a way forward in tackling this looming water problem.
Foon Weng Lian
This LoE (Letter to Editor) was published in TheMalaysianInsider.com and FreeMalaysiaToday.com on 25 July 2014.
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