Lawmaker Says Supply Of Raw Water In Selangor Will Deplete If New Sources Untapped

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Selangor may be on the verge of a shortage of raw water should new sources of water remain untapped amidst the ongoing challenge to supply adequate treated water to numerous homes, offices, restaurants and factories in the state, says a federal lawmaker.

MCA Pandan MP Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said the Selangor government must take stock to ensure that the current supply of raw water would be in tandem with population and industrial production growth, noting that certain portions of raw water currently sourced could not be treated and consumed by the state’s population.

“Why must we confuse the people by portraying that we have sufficient raw water? We know very well that not all the raw water that we have is suitable for treatment because we do understand that the raw water in certain areas may contain heavy metal, and this might even cost you a fortune in seeking (medical) treatment,” he said in an interview.  

Ong criticised the Selangor government for not tabling “convincing figures” or statistics in the state assembly that would put an end to the water impasse, saying that Selangor was grappling with two water issues on different fronts, namely, the shortage of raw water and raising the capacity of water treatment plants.  

“Pakatan Rakyat state legislators have been saying that we have enough raw water just because it is now the rainy season and all the dams are full. By saying that the reservoirs are full of water doesn’t mean that you have enough raw water in reality. We want the state government to come up with some unbiased statistics in order not to confuse the people,” said the seasoned politician.

He said the role of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) was confined to the distribution of treated water to Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and that it was the state government’s jurisdiction over the issue of raw water to be provided to water treatment plants.  

Ong, who is a former transport minister, also questioned the state government’s ability to guarantee uninterrupted flow of water if it were to secure a 100 per cent stake and full management rights of Syabas against the backdrop of not constructing new water treatment plants and not tapping new sources of raw water.  

“Just by reshuffling or maybe taking control of the management rights and the water assets of the concessionaire, do you think the state government can resolve a water crisis in the long run? I doubt so,” he said.

Ong pointed out that the Langat 2 mitigation project was among several programmes that were planned before the 2008 general election to cope with the high demand for treated water due to the mushrooming of factories and business parks in the state, saying that the state authorities should look at it objectively and prevent a repeat of the 1997-98 water crisis.

“I do understand that the state government is playing hard ball with the federal government, especially when they make it a prerequisite to be guaranteed the transfer of the management rights of all the water assets, including the Langat 2 treatment plant (upon completion), before they agree to grant the green light to the project (Langat 2),” he said.

Last week, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui told the Dewan Negara that the Langat 2 water treatment project had fallen behind schedule by 29 months and that the Selangor government should withdraw its directives to local councils to hold off giving the approvals that would allow 22 tender packages related to the plant to be disbursed.

The minister said the project, according to the original schedule, should have been 68.95 per cent ready as of October this year but the status of the project was only 28.40 per cent complete.  

On the Selangor government’s announcement to reopen the Bukit Jelutong water treatment plant as a pioneer project for membrane technology to treat water, Ong said the people had yet to see it translated into “real action” and it was vital for the state to announce new sources of raw water other than that from Pahang.

“On the Pahang raw water, I still remember, the current state administration said we do not need that, meaning they claim that they have sufficient raw water. But, actually, this is not true. So how are they going to handle such a situation? Ultimately, you have to face the people,” he said, adding that the existing capacity of the 34 water treatment plants in the state was at the optimum level.

In September, it was reported that the Pahang government would consider cancelling the raw water supply agreement with Selangor if the latter continued to politicise the issue.

The water transfer project between the two states will see 1,890 million litres of raw water pumped daily from Sungai Semantan in Pahang to the Hulu Langat water treatment facility in Selangor.
 
Questioned on the possibility of a sharp tariff hike with the current Langat 2 project proceeding as planned, Ong replied: “It depends on the negotiations between the state government and the federal government. I see no reason why the state administration wants to make this an issue.

“By making this an issue, alleging that they have to pay high tariffs because of Langat 2, is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.” — Bernama

MUHYIDDIN APPEALS TO THE SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE

By Lord Haw-Haw

We should congratulate Tan Sri Muhyiddin on his leadership and the spirit of compromise with which he is striving for an agreement on the Selangor Water Crisis.

Muhyiddin’s comments yesterday stating his readiness to discuss the water issue with the Selangor State government were thoughtful and showed his concern for the long term interests of the state.

Tan Sri Khalid on the balance has proven to be unyielding, verging on obstructionist, in arriving at a lasting solution for Selangor’s water supply, preferring to defend his position of offering short term solutions at the expense of reaching a conclusive resolution.

At the heart of the issue is a failure of communication. Both sides have until now preferred to stand by their partisan views which have proven to be strongly prejudiced in favor of their respective causes.

It was Muhyiddin who crossed the political divide and appealed directly to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at a Luncheon on Wednesday given by the Speaker of the house.

Muhyiddin showed his political maturity by asking Anwar, in his position as economic adviser to Selangor, to press Khalid for an enduring resolution to the Water Crisis for the sake of the people of Selangor and not as a means of securing political mileage.

In light of this Muhyiddin’s appeal for compromise resonates like the first real voice of reason in this altogether prolonged and unnecessary fiasco.

 

SELANGOR GOVERNMENT'S STUBBORNNESS WILL CAUSE CRITICAL WATER CRISIS, WARNS EXPERT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 (Bernama) -- Selangor will certainly face a critical water crisis if the state government remains stubborn by continuing to block the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant, a water management expert warned today.

Dr Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri said providing treated water was a most important responsibility of the state government and the Langat 2 plant remained the only alternative means for the state to have adequate supply of treated water because all existing treatment plants had exceeded their production capacity.

"Without this alternative plan, the people and industries in Selangor will run out of treated water as we have reached the maximum production level. We have come to the stage of requiring a new solution and new alternative. And in the immediate term, Langat 2 is the only solution," he said in an interview.

Dr Zaharuddin Sani uses a simple "nasi lemak " analogy to explain the situation. "If we need 500 packets of nasi lemak to be given to 500 people, then it's enough. But if we only have 500 packets and there are 520 people to eat the nasi lemak, then it won't be enough."

He rubbished the Selangor government's free-water policy and called for a review of the policy because, he said, water was a precious asset for any nation and should no longer be deemed as something cheap, let alone given free.

Following is the Q & A from the interview:

Q: Will the Langat 2 plant overcome all water problems in Selangor?

A: At the moment, when we talk about Langat 2 being able to solve our water problems, the answer is yes, because we need treated water. Based on a very high current demand, we need Langat 2 as the solution. But even this solution is temporary in nature. Why I'm saying temporary is because in the future we will have 1,000 people who want to eat the nasi lemak and even if we have new dams, it's not going to be effective compared to the most important approach for us to adopt from now -- to educate the people to use water wisely.

We must recognise our water as an asset that no longer can be viewed as something cheap. Water can no longer be regarded as something to be given free. Water should be seen as something very valuable. If we compare one litre of bottled water and one litre of oil, the price is about the same, so we should appreciate the value of water. But why is it that we can conserve the use of oil and not when it comes to water?

So what's the solution? Because we ourselves don't realise that water is something very valuable. If we do realise how precious it is, then certainly we will be very cautious in using it.

Back to the question of Langat 2. Yes, it is absolutely necessary. And, at the same time, it should be followed with massive efforts to educate consumers on the real value of water, so that we won't need a Langat 3.

Q: So, it means that the Selangor government's policy of giving free water is something unwise?

A: There is nothing free in this world, and the water that's given is treated water. Treated water requires cost to produce.

If we require cost, we need money. So, if we give free water, then we devalue this vital commodity and no one will value something that's given free.

If we increase the water tariff, just like in Europe, we could see consumers place a high value on water in terms of their attitude towards water consumption as they look at water as a vital asset.

But if we are provided with unlimited water everywhere and, worst of all, provided free, we will lose our sense of value over water. So, the move to give free water should be reviewed.

Q: Langat 2 is a solution but it still doesn't exist due to the state-federal conflict. What's the implication?

A: The implication is that we won't be able to provide adequate treated water to consumers while, at the same time, we can say we have sufficient water sources.

Based on this assumption, we need to conserve our water resources. We just cannot dream that tomorrow we'll have more than what we have today.

We must live in reality. If we have so much today, we have to adopt accordingly. And if Langat 2 remains unresolved, we then need a new solution.

Among the solutions over the longer term is educating the people on water consumption and control on the supply of water.

Q: The capacity yield of rivers in Selangor that provide the main sources of raw water to the treatment plants is reported to be reaching the maximum. Will this undermine the supply of treated water?

A: To treat water, we need raw material which, in this case, is raw water. But if we want to treat something and the raw material is not available, so there's nothing to treat.

Yes, it's true to say that currently the capacity has reached its maximum. If we don't have raw water to treat, we can't produce treated water to supply to consumers.

So, if we think of our rivers, dams that have reached their maximum, we have reached a stage where we need to look at new alternatives.

Q: You have cited studies that show each Malaysian uses an average of 310 litres of water per day (lpd), which is 145 litres more than what consumers in other countries use. Can you elaborate?

A: It's 145 litres per person. If one household has five residents, then the consumption is five times more. Imagine the millions of litres in excess consumption per household.

This is the study by the United Nations that stipulates consumption at 145 lpd per person.

But in Malaysia the consumption is very excessive in every sense of the word.

Q: The Selangor government says that Langat 2 is not necessary because the ongoing mitigation projects are able to cope with the demand? Is this so?

A: The Selangor government only plans things for the short term. It looks at adequate water up to 2014. In contrast, the planning done by the federal government is over the long term, stretching more than 20 years.

Langat 2 is necessary for this period. At present, we might not see water problems as something critical because, everywhere we go, there's water in the tap. But, try to imagine the situation five years from now. Would we still have this luxury?

-- BERNAMA

VIDEO MANA AIR TAN SRI!

Pergelutan air yang berterusan di antara SYABAS dan Kerajaan Negeri Selangor nampaknya sudah timbulkan kemarahan rakyat!

Video ini yang team OMBIZ jumpa cukup pedasss mesejnya!

How to Conserve Water and Make Money

Photo: Playerx

Since the newspapers tell us everyday that we should start saving water, OH MY BUSINESS! started thinking about the kinds of businesses we can start to support water conservation.

Ok so maybe Malaysians don't know how to save water (or petrol, or electricity, or..) but let's face facts, what if one day water becomes really scarce, or worse, the government starts controlling how we can use water.

This is a list of ideas of businesses that deal with water conservation that can be successful when conservation becomes a serious matter. Also it’s great suggestions for eco-entrepreneurs (or ecopreneurs!).

5 Ideas for water conservation businesses:

1. Water auditing

Did you know people will actually pay for someone to come and check whether their water use at their homes or office is optimal or not? That’s what a water auditor does.

A water auditor will come and look at how water is used in a household or office, and give an estimation of how optimized its use is. In some areas, local councils set a level of optimal water use, and if an auditor finds that it is less than optimal, then the household or office will have to make changes and adjustments in the problem areas that the water auditor had identified.

2. Sell Low-flow fixtures (shower heads/ taps/ toilets)

A cheap way to conserve water is by installing a low-flow tap or water fixture that reduces the amount of water that flows out of your tap. Besides reducing the amount of water used, low-flow fixtures saves money on the water bill as well.

Low-flow fixtures are cheap and accessible and in a country like Malaysia that’s only getting on the water conservation bandwagon, there is bound to be a huge demand.

3. Start a leak detecting business

In buildings and complexes, finding a leak isn’t as easy as finding where water is dripping from. That’s where leak detectors come in. With the aid of dyes, ultra sound and electronic technology, they can detect with great accuracy where the leaks are without having to hack through walls.

4. Sell Rainwater Kits

One great thing about KL is how much rain we get. All that rain usually just flows into the drains and sewers, which is a missed opportunity for water conservation.

Rainwater harvesting kits and technology collect rainwater in a convenient and hygienic way so that it can be used for non-potable purposes, like gardening and doing the laundry. For tropical climates like ours, these kits should be as common as water filters. Also it saves money off the water bill.

5. Introduce In-pipe Sensors

Another promising water conservation technology that could be marketed  is in-pipe sensors. While leak detectors and water audits tell you where there are problems after it happens. In-pipe sensors can tell you how your water is being used real-time and can give instant feedback about how water is used in your premises.

Since this is a relatively new technology, there is plenty of room to grow when it comes to in-pipe sensors. 

And ultimately the job opportunities that these ecopreneurs will create!