SHAH ALAM, June 17 — Residents in Selangor will not face water rationing again this year, the state administration vowed today as the current hot spell renewed concerns that taps might run dry again.
State executive councillor in charge of youth and sports, infrastructure and public utilities, Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi said that based on water levels at retention ponds and dams, the state has enough water to last for at least four to five months.
“And that does not include cloud-seeding efforts and alternative sources of water, particularly from former mining ponds and water retention ponds.
“At this point, we are guaranteeing that [water rationing] will not take place,” he told reporters after the state assembly session concluded for the day.
There are currently nine water catchment areas in the state, Ahmad Yunus added.
Earlier today, state executive councillor for tourism, consumer affairs and environment Elizabeth Wong told the state assembly that steps taken to ensure adequate water supply include installing high-powered pumps in alternative ponds, and cloud-seeding with experts from the “royal rainmaking” technology from Thailand to test alternative techniques.
The state will also control the release of water from dams to optimise usage and prevent wastage.
A two-month long water rationing exercise since end of February had disrupted water supply to some 2.2 million consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
The Sungai Selangor Dam, which is the main source of water supply in the country’s most developed state, had plunged below the 40 per cent critical level.
