HULU SELANGOR, Feb 14 —Three dams running low on water supply will cause residents in the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan to experience water shortage if the dry spell continues in the next three weeks. The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry said the dams at Sungai Selangor and Klang Gates in Selangor, and Kelinchi in Negeri Sembilan, were experiencing water capacity of below 60 per cent.
“If the dry spell continues, we may need to restrict water supply and this will affect two million residents in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya alone,” said its deputy minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
The Sungai Selangor dam is currently left with 57.6 per cent of water, Klang Gates with 58 per cent, and Kelinchi dam with 58.6 per cent.
He said that if the heatwave persists in the next 16 days, the water levels may drop to 45 per cent of the total control volume.
While meetings on water rationing were going on, Mahdzir said, a cloud-seeding exercise would take place if water levels continued to drop to a critical level.
Mahdzir, who visited the dams at Sungai Selangor and Klang Gates yesterday, said the dry weather was not the only reason for the drop in water level as increased usage of water in the Klang Valley played a role as well.
The Sungai Selangor dam in Kuala Kubu Baru alone, which has a capacity of 230 million cubic meters of water, supplies 2,900 million litres a day (MLD) or 60 per cent of water to households in the Klang Valley. The average water supply from Sungai Selangor alone was 1,600 MLD.
Klang Gates, which accommodates 3.2 million cubic meters, supplies an average of 125 MLD to 30,000 accounts in the Klang Valley.
Mahdzir said although several states in the north were also experiencing lack of rain, the water levels of dams in Kedah, Perlis and Penang were under control.
A spokesman from concessionaire Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH) said based on patterns studied over the past 10 years, the dams were running low on water too fast this year.
“Usually, this would take place in September. But this time around, it is taking place early in the year,” he said.
There may be further problems if it does not rain continuously until June. It is said the country would be experiencing another period of dry season from June to September.
“This is worrying as there may not be sufficient water in the dam by September,” he said.
The Malay Mail had yesterday reported dams in the Klang Valley are running low. A spokesman from Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor had confirmed that water reserves were at critical level because of the dry spell.
