Melati Mohd Ariff
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama ) -- Although there is no more water rationing
in the Klang Valley, this does not mean that the water crisis that
affected parts of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya for the past two
months is over.
No doubt the people in these areas can now breathe a sigh of relief but there is still no guarantee that the water supply will not be disrupted again.
The Meteorological Department had cautioned consumers that a dry weather is expected from mid-May for a period of about five months due to the Southwest Monsoon season.
In addition, at the time this article was written, the seven dams supplying raw water for Selangor were reportedly have yet to reach their normal capacity despite cloud seeding efforts and rain.
The dams are Batu, Klang Gates, Langat, Semenyih, Sungai Selangor, Sungai Tinggi dan Tasik Subang.
FORGETFUL LOT
In reality, it was not the first time Malaysians experienced extreme hot weather and drought.
Being located close to the equator, our climate features high temperature and humidity all year round.
Similarly, repeated disruption or rationing of water supply is nothing new as the country had suffered severe water crisis in 1997-1998.
What is saddening is the attitude of most Malaysians when comes to water consumption.
The Selangor state government's move of providing the first 20 cubic meter of water for free is also seen as not helping to curb such wasteful attitude.
"We are not learning from the past. Malaysians are absent minded, or tend to forget things easily," this is the opinion of Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng, President of Water Watch Penang when asked of his views on the latest water woes.
He said Malaysians tend to overuse water to the tune of about 212 liters/person/day (LPD). The international standard is only about 165 LPD.
Singaporeans use about about 150 LPD, while people in India and Africa use 100 LPD and 50 LPD respectively.
"Hence we need to clean up our act and change the image from a water wasting society to a water saving society," said Chan who is also a Professor at the Department of Geography, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang to Bernama.
According to Chan, Malaysians do not pay attention to water as they are more interested in income, education and health.
"We think the environment, including water is the responsibility of the government, not ours. Hence, we don't do much to conserve water," he added.
With so much rain a year, it is almost unthinkable that Malaysia could face water supply crisis.
"Poor management of water. There can be no excuse when a country like Malaysia that has 3,000mm of rainfall per year having to endure water rationing.
"In terms of nature, we have bountiful rains, water resources and rivers, but we do not have the right water management model and system. Politics also exacerbate the water woes," he stressed.
FOUR CATEGORIES
Still on water wastage, Bernama also sought the opinion of S.Piarapakaran, President of the Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (AWER).
He divided water wastage into four categories - management of water resources, loss of treated water, consumption of treated water and reuse of waste water.
Explaining the failure to manage water resources, Piarapakaran told the writer, Malaysia has a total surface water of more than what is needed.
"Surface water is the water that is flowing or static on the surface of the earth such as rivers and lakes.
"Pollution and the failure to protect water resources and catchment areas are the root cause of the current water crisis," he said.
In this case, the responsibility for governing water resources is under the Department of Environment (DOE) and the state government and they should carry out their duties.
TREATED WATER
While explaining the loss of treated water, Piarapakaran who is also an environmental activist said it involved non-revenue water (NRW).
Citing statistics from National Water Services Commission (SPAN), national NRW for year 2012 was around 36.4 percent, meaning only 63.6 percent of treated water reaches consumers and gives financial returns to the water supply companies.
"If we can reduce the NRW even though only one-third of the current rate within the next five years, this could increase additional 12.1 percent of the capacity of treated water supply to consumers without the need to build a new water treatment plant," he added.
USAGE OF TREATED WATER
Piarapakaran said consumers need to use treated water more efficiently.
AWER has taken the initiative to launch an online tool "Catch d Hydro" in www.water.org.my to help domestic consumers to become more water efficient in addition to the proposed equipment labeling.
Obviously, for a start, voluntary water efficiency labeling is being recommended for washing machine, dishwasher, shower head, taps and toilet flush.
This labeling will help consumers to ensure that equipment purchased is efficient in water use.
For example, there are taps in the market that can reduce water consumption by almost 50 percent.
"This helps users to be more water efficient," he added.
AWER suggest that the labeling be made mandatory in two years with the implementation of the Minimum Water Efficiency Standards as recommended by AWER.
RECYCLE
Recycling is often associated with paper products, glass or plastic but how about water?
For Piarapakaran, wastewater can also be recycled as not all industrial activities require water quality that is suitable for drinking water.
He gave an example of the treated sewage wastewater which can be used for industrial cooling purposes, processes that do not involve the preparation of food, watering gardens and plants under the supervision of the local government.
"Pipes can be specifically linked to areas with high demand. Tankers for watering plants under the care of the local government can also take recycled water from the sewage plant easily.
"This is also a subject under the jurisdiction of SPAN. Based on the current situation in the Klang Valley, sewage wastewater can be treated to be a source of treated water for industrial use as soon as possible," he said.
-- BERNAMA
No doubt the people in these areas can now breathe a sigh of relief but there is still no guarantee that the water supply will not be disrupted again.
The Meteorological Department had cautioned consumers that a dry weather is expected from mid-May for a period of about five months due to the Southwest Monsoon season.
In addition, at the time this article was written, the seven dams supplying raw water for Selangor were reportedly have yet to reach their normal capacity despite cloud seeding efforts and rain.
The dams are Batu, Klang Gates, Langat, Semenyih, Sungai Selangor, Sungai Tinggi dan Tasik Subang.
FORGETFUL LOT
In reality, it was not the first time Malaysians experienced extreme hot weather and drought.
Being located close to the equator, our climate features high temperature and humidity all year round.
Similarly, repeated disruption or rationing of water supply is nothing new as the country had suffered severe water crisis in 1997-1998.
What is saddening is the attitude of most Malaysians when comes to water consumption.
The Selangor state government's move of providing the first 20 cubic meter of water for free is also seen as not helping to curb such wasteful attitude.
"We are not learning from the past. Malaysians are absent minded, or tend to forget things easily," this is the opinion of Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng, President of Water Watch Penang when asked of his views on the latest water woes.
He said Malaysians tend to overuse water to the tune of about 212 liters/person/day (LPD). The international standard is only about 165 LPD.
Singaporeans use about about 150 LPD, while people in India and Africa use 100 LPD and 50 LPD respectively.
"Hence we need to clean up our act and change the image from a water wasting society to a water saving society," said Chan who is also a Professor at the Department of Geography, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang to Bernama.
According to Chan, Malaysians do not pay attention to water as they are more interested in income, education and health.
"We think the environment, including water is the responsibility of the government, not ours. Hence, we don't do much to conserve water," he added.
With so much rain a year, it is almost unthinkable that Malaysia could face water supply crisis.
"Poor management of water. There can be no excuse when a country like Malaysia that has 3,000mm of rainfall per year having to endure water rationing.
"In terms of nature, we have bountiful rains, water resources and rivers, but we do not have the right water management model and system. Politics also exacerbate the water woes," he stressed.
FOUR CATEGORIES
Still on water wastage, Bernama also sought the opinion of S.Piarapakaran, President of the Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (AWER).
He divided water wastage into four categories - management of water resources, loss of treated water, consumption of treated water and reuse of waste water.
Explaining the failure to manage water resources, Piarapakaran told the writer, Malaysia has a total surface water of more than what is needed.
"Surface water is the water that is flowing or static on the surface of the earth such as rivers and lakes.
"Pollution and the failure to protect water resources and catchment areas are the root cause of the current water crisis," he said.
In this case, the responsibility for governing water resources is under the Department of Environment (DOE) and the state government and they should carry out their duties.
TREATED WATER
While explaining the loss of treated water, Piarapakaran who is also an environmental activist said it involved non-revenue water (NRW).
Citing statistics from National Water Services Commission (SPAN), national NRW for year 2012 was around 36.4 percent, meaning only 63.6 percent of treated water reaches consumers and gives financial returns to the water supply companies.
"If we can reduce the NRW even though only one-third of the current rate within the next five years, this could increase additional 12.1 percent of the capacity of treated water supply to consumers without the need to build a new water treatment plant," he added.
USAGE OF TREATED WATER
Piarapakaran said consumers need to use treated water more efficiently.
AWER has taken the initiative to launch an online tool "Catch d Hydro" in www.water.org.my to help domestic consumers to become more water efficient in addition to the proposed equipment labeling.
Obviously, for a start, voluntary water efficiency labeling is being recommended for washing machine, dishwasher, shower head, taps and toilet flush.
This labeling will help consumers to ensure that equipment purchased is efficient in water use.
For example, there are taps in the market that can reduce water consumption by almost 50 percent.
"This helps users to be more water efficient," he added.
AWER suggest that the labeling be made mandatory in two years with the implementation of the Minimum Water Efficiency Standards as recommended by AWER.
RECYCLE
Recycling is often associated with paper products, glass or plastic but how about water?
For Piarapakaran, wastewater can also be recycled as not all industrial activities require water quality that is suitable for drinking water.
He gave an example of the treated sewage wastewater which can be used for industrial cooling purposes, processes that do not involve the preparation of food, watering gardens and plants under the supervision of the local government.
"Pipes can be specifically linked to areas with high demand. Tankers for watering plants under the care of the local government can also take recycled water from the sewage plant easily.
"This is also a subject under the jurisdiction of SPAN. Based on the current situation in the Klang Valley, sewage wastewater can be treated to be a source of treated water for industrial use as soon as possible," he said.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama Online
Thu 8 May 2014.
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