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Saturday, August 2, 2014

At odds with what constitutes ‘critical’ water levels

According to LUAS, the water reserve level at the Sungai Selangor Dam has already reached a critical stage but the Selangor government says otherwise.
SungaiselangordamThe water level at the Sungai Selangor Dam has recorded its lowest reading of 33.46% but the Selangor government has arbitrarily determined the critical cut-off point at 30%, Klang MP Charles Santiago said today.
He said the state had initially used a critical cut-off point of 37% in determining water rationing in March.
Santiago said while the state government had conveniently tweaked the maths, Lembaga Urusan Air Selangor (Luas) noted that the water reserve level had already reached a critical stage.
He added that if the current raw water level persisted in the coming days, Selangor residents would be hit by another round of water rationing.
Santiago said as people return from their Hari Raya break, the reserve level would dip further because of higher consumption.
“This situation will be made worse if there is no rain in the catchment area.
“Water professionals suggest that the critical level of 30% could be reached by next week and existing water reserves would be used up in the next three to four weeks,” he said in a press statement.
He added that the recent cloud-seeding exercise had not proven successful in replenishing water reserves significantly.
“While the impact of cloud-seeding has yet to be seen, time is running out for the state,” said Santiago.
The Meteorological Department has ruled out rain in the next two months.
“Since February, the state has been using ponds near Sg Selangor but water in these ponds have now depleted.
“I understand that new ex-mining ponds have been secured in the area,” said Santiago.
He said doubts had been raised about the capacity of ex-mining ponds in Bestari Jaya to compensate for the short-fall in dam reserves because the Sg Selangor Dam discharged about 400 million cubic metres daily to the river.
He added that the state government had to be transparent on the number of ex-mining ponds used and the volume of water drawn from these ponds to meet demand.
“Furthermore, low water flow in a drought period can lead to heavy metal contamination of the river.
“So far, the Health Department has not disclosed the findings on the drinking water quality during the drought period.
“Until a public disclosure is made, drinking water from Sg Selangor should be treated as unsafe for consumption,” he said.
Santiago said the state government had also not rolled out a plan of action to manage the water emergency.
He said the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) had a legal and regulatory responsibility to intervene in the face of a water emergency.
“SPAN should not wait for the state to extend a formal invitation to help resolve the problem. It has to ensure that emergency Standard Operating Procedures are put in place and followed,” he added.

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