SHAH ALAM, 25 July: The Selangor government will ensure that there is adequate water supply for the Water Treatment Plants (WTP) to operate at maximum levels, especially during the festive season.
The Chairman of Standing Committee for Youth and Sports, Infrastructure and Public Amenities, Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, said that the State Government, through the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS), will take several measures to ensure that water is supplied to the people, especially during this festive season, despite a decrease in water levels at dams due to the dry weather.
“LUAS is maximising the use of alternative water pools at Bestari Jaya through pumping operations that go on for 24 hours.
The operation is performed by officials consisting of LUAS, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and Kumpuloan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB).
“This is to ensure that the water quality in Sungai Selangor meets the needs of the intakes and also WTPs, especially as the festive season approaches,” he said in a statement today.
He said that 20 pumps have been installed to pump water from the ponds to the rivers, while seven other pumps are to pump riverwater in the ponds during high flow.
He said that to ensure that operations run smoothly without interruption, an operations room for pumping operations of alternative pool water has been set up at nearby buildings with the pool area as an operations monitoring centre by the team of officers.
“At the same time, the Volunteer Service Department of Malaysia (RELA) and also assistance from the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) to be used to ensure the safety of the officers and the operation,” he said.
Dr Yunus said that although a decrease in water consumption is expected earlier during the festive season because urban dwellers will return to their hometown; however pool pumping operations will continue to ensure that tanks will be filled to accommodate the increase in consumption after the holidays.
Commenting about the water levels at dams in Selangor which have continued to decrease, Dr Ahamad Yunus said that they have applied for aircraft services from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to carry out cloud seeding operations at a larger scale during a meeting with the Water Supply Monitoring Committee and the National Security Council.
“We are waiting for feedback from the NSC on the matter. With the current weather that is hot and dry, this cloud seeding operation will be performed according to appropriateness on the advice of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET),” he said.
At the same time, he also urged consumers to be always wise and frugal in using water during this festive season, especially since we are experiencing a dry and hot weather.
As of 8am today, the water level at the Sungai Selangor dam recorded a reading of 35.69 percent.
NS
