.jpg "Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali speaks to reporters during a press conference at Parliament in Kuala Lumpur March 10, 2015. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isan")
AMPANG JAYA, April 22 — Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali assured Klang Valley residents that proactive measures were being taken to prevent water shortage through monitoring of dam water levels as well as ongoing cloud seeding which would be increased in frequency if needed.
He was speaking in response to Klang MP Charles Santiago recommending measures be taken to avoid a repeat of the 2014 water crisis.
“We have taken some proactive measures with Horas (Hybrid Off-River Augmentation System) and also cloud seeding, which we have embarked for the last few months,” he told reporters last night after an awards ceremony for outstanding servicemen of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ).
“And if there is necessity to increase the number of flights for the cloud seeding, we will do so.”
Horas, a storm-water harvesting system coupled with accumulation of groundwater, was launched by the state government in 2014 but is expected to only be completed by July of next year.
He added that the matter was also discussed during the State Economic Action Council (MTES) meeting yesterday.
“It was one of the issues that we deliberated, and we are monitoring closely all our dams and rivers in Selangor,” he said.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Santiago claimed that Selangor could face a water crisis in 43 days if the Sungai Selangor reserves drop below the critical level of 40 per cent.
He cited statistics from water levels published by one of the state’s water agencies Lembaga Urusan Air Selangor (Luas) to back his claims, and said the Sungai Selangor and Semenyih dams are now depleting at a rate of 0.62 per cent and 0.47 per cent daily.
The Sungai Selangor and Semenyih dams serve over five million people in the Klang Valley area.
Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong also responded yesterday, saying Santiago’s claim was a “wild allegation” based on “inaccurate” calculations by the lawmaker, and that Selangor is well prepared to handle the prolonged dry spell.
