WATER WOES IN MALAYSIA
These are the gist of several reports on water problems in Malaysia. "We'll Face Water Crisis by 2014" (New Straits Times -24 April 2011)
Malaysians will soon face a water crisis in 2014. According to Ahmad Zahdi Jamil, the president of Malaysia Water Association, users are wasting and overusing water. Each Malaysian consumes about 280 litres of water daily compared to Singapore, where a person uses 155 litres, in Philippine, it is 175 litres, and in Indonesia 130 litres. Water is also wasted due to pipes burst or leaks.
"Malaysia Faces Looming Water Crisis" (The Star Online-22 Mar. 2011)
Climate change could alter the favourable rainfall pattern in our country. If this happens, Malaysia will have to come to terms with water rationing or other drastic water conservation measures.
“A study showed that 70% of Malaysians use more than they should.’’ Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said. "If Malaysians follow the recommended water usage, they can save up to 28.2cu.m per household, or RM18.33 a month,” added Chin. The recommended daily limit for Malaysians is 165 litres per person, which means water use has to be reduced by 37%.
Most people do not know the amount of water they use as the water bill is only a small component of their monthly household expenses. The value of water is not evidence to most Malaysians unless, of course, they happen to be amongst the tens of thousands affected by the water crisis in 1998.
“Water is also so cheap that nobody pays any attention to saving it in the same way we would save electricity. In fact, the average Malaysian family’s water bill is only about 10% of its electricity bill,’’ said Dr Chan Ngai Weng, a geography professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia who is president of Water Watch Penang (waterwatch penang.org).
In his speech at the World Water Day conference, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that water cannot be treated as though it were available in unlimited quantities and supplied at zero or low cost to consumers. “We must not forget that when we turn on the tap, what comes out is not just water but a product which has value. Although we have plenty of water in Malaysia, clean water requires capital and investment.”
"The Looming Water Crisis in Cities" (Yahoo News Malaysia-21 Mar. 2011)
World Water Day 2011 which falls on 22 March 2011 carries the theme "Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge". Between 65-70 % of Malaysia's population dwell in urban areas whre water stress is fast developing due to high water demands.
The President of Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (AWER), S. Piarapakaran,said that most cities are without water treament plants. In Taiping, Perak, although it has Bukit Larut water catchment area, more than 200,000 people depend on this source.
"The cost of bringing treated water from faraway locations to the centre of demands is always higher. This is due to capital and operational expenditures such as cost of electricity, piping and labour. However, in Malaysia we spread all these cost equally as tariff," he explained.
In Kuala Lumpur , Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Klang and Port Klang, water from the Klang River is too contaminated to be treated, thus cases of water scarcity increase. Even when water cut is exercise due to pollution or maintenance, it takes days to fill up the storage tanks and reservoirs. Such cases happened in 2010 at Semenyih Plant and also Penang.
Where Does Malaysia Get Its Water?
Our country gets its water from various sources, 90% of the supply comes from rivers and streams. Nevertheless, all water resources are dependent on rainfall. Of the total average annual rainfall of about 320bcm for Peninsular Malaysia, 47% run off as surface flow and is available for use. The total annual water demand is estimated to reach about 14bcm by 2020 which equates to 12% of the total water availability. Dams are constructed along rivers to create reservoirs and water is drawn from these areas for water treatment plants throughout the country.Water supply management and development in Malaysia is managed on a state-by-state basis; and to cater for the differences in supply and demand inter-state water transfer programmes have been implemented. The Department of Environment (DOE) does the job of monitoring the river basins to determine the water quality in relation to major pollution sources. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is responsible for monitoring the raw water quality in the reservoirs at the intake points of the treatment plants. State Water Authorities or private companies then supply piped drinking water from the treatment plants to the population.
What is water catchment area?
It is defines as an area in which surface runoff collects and from which it is carried by a drainage system, as a river and its tributaries. Also known as catchment area; drainage area; feeding ground; gathering ground; hydrographic basin. (The Free Dictionary By Farlex)
It is an extent or area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a single point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake, dry lake, or a point where surface water is lost underground. The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels, and is separated from adjacent basins by a drainage divide. Other terms that are used to describe a drainage basin are catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, water basin and watershed. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia)
A water catchment area
Ulu Langat Park
Kinabatangan River
Selangor State Park
Ulu Muda Forest Reserve
Some of the water basins in our country
- The Main Range or Banjaran Titiwangsa - An important water catchment area for the whole of Peninsular Malaysia.
- Ulu Langat Park, Selangor-The forests of the Park are catchment for the upper reaches of the major rivers in Selangor (Sg. Bernam, Sg. Selangor, Sg. Klang and Sg. Langat). These river basins cover almost the entire state of Selangor. The Park is the origin of many smaller streams that merge to form larger rivers, including Sg. Kerling, Sg. Batang Klang, and Sg. Semenyih, that feed these major rivers.The Park area also feeds the 5 reservoirs (Sg. Selangor Dam in the Sg. Selangor river basin, Batu and Klang Gates Dams in the Sg. Klang river basin, Langat and Semenyih Dams in the Sg. Langat river basin). It provides 98% of the water supply to Selangor, KL and Putrajaya.
- Ulu Muda, Kedah- This last great piece of rainforest reserve spans 120,000 hectares and serves as a water catchment area for a major part of Kedah. Three great lakes are located in Ulu Muda - Tasik Pedu, Tasik Muda and Tasik Beris. The Ulu Muda forests also form the water catchment area for the Muda, Pedu and Ahning dams that supply water for drinking and irrigation to Kedah, Penang and Perlis.
- The Air Terjun Rive, Penang-The Penang Waterfall is within the water catchment area, vital to the supply needs of the island so it is closed to the public. Only10-15% of Penang water supply comes from this place. It has been one of historical sources of water for Georgetown and ships. In the first decade of the 1800s, the Waterfall was harnessed to supply water to Georgetown’s growing population. In 1805, an aqueduct was built from the Waterfall via Pulau Tikus to a reservoir near Leith Street Ghaut and Hutton Lane respectively (PBA, 1988).
- Batang Ai National Park, Sarawak- It is also the water catchment area to Sarawak's only artificial lake. This huge lake stretches up the Engkari and Ai valleys. The dam is part of the Batang Ai Hydro-Electricity Complex.
- The Padas River, and the Segama River, Sabah- Padas is the most important reserve in terms of future water supply in Sabah. It receives the most rainfall of above 4000mm annually, which is comparatively higher than other catchment areas in Sabah
- Tawau Hills Park, Sabah-It was gazetted to protect water catchment resources for Tawau Town and the Semporna Peninsula. At least 7 major rivers originate here. The Tawau River flows through the middle of the 27,972 ha park and forms many natural deepwater pools and waterfalls, for example, the Table Waterfall.
WATER HISTORY IN MALAYSIA
The British laid the foundation of piped water in Penang, shortly after they had set themselves up in Penang, their first base in Malaysia. The first formal arrangement for a water supply system was in 1804. Convict labour constructed an aqueduct of brick to transport clear stream water from the hills to town. Earthen pipes were laid under the streets and water was taken through tin pipes to homes. The bricks in the aqueduct were often dislodged and the aqueduct was eventually replaced with a cast iron main in 1877.
Sarawak had its water mains in Kuching in 1887 to provide and followed by Kuala Lumpur and Melaka in 1889 and the rest of the Federated Malay States.
Old Ayer Itam Intake, Penang 1889
Sarawak had its water mains in Kuching in 1887 to provide and followed by Kuala Lumpur and Melaka in 1889 and the rest of the Federated Malay States.
By early 1900s, treated water was delivered directly from the source to homes, as required by an International movement in developed nations to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as chorela, typhoid, and dysentery. Initially, slow, inexpensive, and easy to build sand filters, were used. They were later replaced with modern rapid gravity filtration plants.
Drinking water transport cart, Malacca
In 1915, disinfection technology used hypochlorite and later, gaseous chlorine. By 1939, households in the major towns of Malaya were well-served with piped water. Many water installations, however, deteriorated from neglect during the war years of the Japanese Occupation from 1941 till 1945.
Handling and laying pipes in pre-War days
By 1950, Malaya had 100 treatment plants producing 195 million litres of water per day to supply a population of 1.15 million. Even then, water shortages were not uncommon, caused not by drought but rapid population growth. Demand for water increased sharply after Independence in 1957, especially in Kuala Lumpur. To cope with rising demand, the Klang Gates Dam and the Bukit Nanas Treatment Plant were constructed in 1959.
By the mid-1980s, the country embarked on a programme of industrialization. Water demand for industrial and domestic use rose from 0.8 billion cubic metres in 1980 to 3.5 billion cubic metres in 2000 ( 437% increase !). Water for irrigation remained the same at 7.4 billion cubic metres each year throughout the 20-year period.
Batu Ferringhi Aqueduct : constructed between 1926-1929 – 6km long, of which
1.4km is in tunnel
1.4km is in tunnel
At the end of 1999, there was a total of 69 dams in operation in Malaysia. Of these, 35 dams have been developed for water supply, 16 are multi-purpose while the rest are for irrigation and hydropower generation. The large dams include the Temenggor Dam in Perak, the Kenyir Dam in Terengganu and the Pedu Dam in Kedah. Other projects included the Kinta Dam in Perak and the Jus Dam in Melaka, regulating dam on Sungai Selangor and treatment plants in Rasa and Bukit Badong in Selangor. Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer scheme was also kicked off and is expected to be completed in 2013.
Batu Dam, Kuala Lumpur
The 8th Malaysia Plan (2001-2005) projects water demand to increase by 5.4% per annum from 2001 to 2005. The Federal Government allocated RM4 billion for water supply projects under the 8th Malaysia Plan.
Now in the 9th. Malaysia Plan (2006-2010), under the Ministry Of Energy, Water and Communications, a total of RM 8.1 billions will be spent on water supply related projects and of which RM 2.7 billions will be focused on new water projects.
Water Supply In Malaysia
Water supply and services in Malaysia is under the joint responsibility of the Federal Government and State Governments. In order to increase the country’s water services quality particularly protecting consumers’ rights, two legislative framework, namely the National Water Service Industry Act (NSW) and the National Water Services Commission Act (SPAN) were introduced.
Consumers in Malaysia enjoy a 24-hour water supply and water is reliable and safe in terms of quantity and quality. It is treated according to international standards for drinking water set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO). All domestic, commercial and industrial users are metered. Water costs are low and vary from state to state.
