Water supply at major dams across most states at safe level

The water level at major dams around Peninsular Malaysia remains at safe level even though the country is experiencing dry weather.

Checks by Bernama in Selangor found that the level of water at seven dams in the state did not reveal anything alarming and remained consistent as at 8am yesterday morning.

According to statistics provided by the Selangor Water Management Authority's (SWMA) official website, the largest dam, Langat Dam recorded a capacity of 65.11% (22:20 million cubic litres) while the Sungai Selangor Dam was at 80.74% or 185.7 million cubic litres .


The Batu Dam recorded 69.68% (22.27 million cubic litres); Klang Gates (79.71%, 20.19 million cubic litres) and Semenyih (99.94%, 59.04 million cubic litres).
Sungai Tinggi read at 77.42%, 88.64 million cubic litres and Tasik Subang (98.96%, 4.16 million cubic litres).

Meanwhile, the Sungai Labu Retention Pond recorded 87.79%, 8.01 million cubic litres of water.

The seven dams across Selangor state supply water to consumers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and the state.

In Seremban, water supply in seven dams in the state was also under control and supply is adequate for the needs of the population in Negeri Sembilan.

"We are still waiting for confirmation on the hot weather from the Malaysian Meteorological Department and we will recalculate to ensure the current hot weather across the country will not affect the needs of people in the state," said Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn Bhd (SAINS) head of public relations, Norzita Ismail.

She said the water level in five dams namely Sungai Terip, Kelinchi, Talang (Ulu Muar), Sungai Beringin, and Ulu Sepri, were above critical level while Gemencheh and Teriang dams were above minimum level.

In Kedah, the water levels at three dams, namely Pedu, Beris and Ahning were adequate and not affected by the hot weather which is expected to continue until August.

Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada), Dam Management senior engineer Zamani Zainol said so far the water level at the three dams was at 71%.

Water capacity for daily use in Kelantan was also reported to be sufficient.

Kelantan Drainage and Irrigation Department director, Shahimi Sharif said so far the department had not received complaints from consumers on water shortage.

In Perlis, the state Drainage and Irrigation Department urged residents to use water sparingly and wisely.

Its deputy director Mohd Nor Hafiz Noor Azmi said so far the water level at the Timah Tasoh Dam had dropped by 0.02 metres per day in the past two weeks.

He said currently the water level at the dam was 29.94 metres while the critical level is 26.5 metres .

In Penang, the supply of water at the Air Itam and Teluk Bahang dams were still sufficient although it has not rained for more than a week.

Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) chief executive officer Jaseni Maidinsa said the capacity reading for Air Itam Dam was 68.3% which could supply water to consumers for 67 days.

"In addition, the water level at the Teluk Bahang Dam is 60.8%, the dam being larger than Air Itam dam is able to last for 185 days or six months," he said when contacted by Bernama.

He said another dam in the state, the Mengkuang Dam was still under repair.

In Malacca, the water level in the three dams in the state were still sufficient to meet the demand of consumers in the state, said Syarikat Air Melaka Berhad chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Khalid Nasir.

He said the Durian Tunggal Dam in Alor Gajah was at 65.65% capacity, Jus Dam in Jasin stood at 58.7 capacity and Asahan Dam in Jasin also at full capacity of 100 percent. "The water supply in Durian Tunggal Dam can last until August even if there is no rainfall. Jus Dam is able to last until December, while Asahan Dam would be much longer," he told Bernama.

However, he added, the water level of Melaka River had dropped due to the hot weather and lack of rain lately and water pumping operations from the river to Durian Tunggal Dam had ceased since June 21.

"We will monitor the situation, if the water level rises we will continue to pump water to Durian Tunggal Dam," he said.

In Johor, two of the seven dams supplying water needs to the state population were a cause of concern after water level dropped following the hot weather.

Syarikat Air Johor Holdings Sdn Bhd (SAJ) head of corporate communications , Jamaluddin Jamal said water level of both Sungai Lebam Dam near Kota Tinggi and Upper Layang Dam in Masai had dropped by 0.03 metres each day.

"Sungai Lebam Dam which recorded 10.21 metres is above the critical level of 12.27 metres while the Upper Layang Dam recorded a level of 20.62 above the critical level of 23.5 metres ," he said.

Jamaluddin said the water level at the Sungei Lebam Dam had not risen in the past two months and scheduled water supply would be enforced if the situation worsened.

He said in addition to the two dams, the river level too dropped in Sungai Sembrong Kiri near Kluang causing shortage of water supply at the Sembrong Timur Treatment Plant.

"As a result, only 29 million litres of water a day could be pumped to the plant compared to 33 million litres per day, thereby causing low pressure water supply to residents," he said. – Bernama, July 1, 2015.

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