Conserve water for better storage margin, Selangor residents advised

PUTRAJAYA: The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KeTTHA) advised Selangor residents to conserve water to increase the water storage margin in the state to 5% without added costs.
Insisting that he is being apolitical on the present situation, KeTTHA secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang said the water storage margin in Selangor is at 0% now.
"To generate a surplus for the purpose of increase water reserve margin, there are two methods. Firstly by increasing the amount of water production and secondly reduce the rate of consumption.
"Since the first approach which is presently being done with the construction of the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant (LRA2) which is costly and time-consuming as it is only being completed in 2022, the next best method is simply to reduce daily water consumption," he told reporters during a press conference at the ministry, here, today.
In this context, Zaini said the current use of water in Selangor averages at 234 litres/day per capita which is above the national average pf 209 litres/ day per capita.
"If the people can reduce their average consumption to 205 litres/day per capita, then the water storage margin can be increased to 5% without any addition of water assets."
Zaini said the present 20 cubic metres of free water to households in Selangor policy by the state government is not a wise move.
"The move by the Selangor government to spend RM14 million per month for the free water programme is not contributing to the long term preservation of water supply.
"The 20 cubic metres of water is equivalent to 20,000 litres. Taking into account of the average 234 litres/day per capita, it can be concluded that 133 litres/day per capita is free while the 101 litres/per capita would be charged," he said.
This situation, he said, has given the impression that water in Selangor is cheap and therefore a wasteful resource.
In the meantime, he also advised the Selangor government to agree on implementing the water migration process by July to prevent the water crisis in the state from worsening.
The LRA, which has completed the process of testing and commissioning, would be left idle and would deprive consumers of an additional 565 million litres per day (MLD) which represents 10% of the water storage margin in Selangor.
He said Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) has RM14 billion in model to finance the take over of Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash)'s assets.
"However while PAAB would be able to upgrade and repair present water assets, the state government must take over the operational costs incurred by Splash.
"And this can only happen if the state government agrees conclude its take over of Splash and to sign the agreement with PAAB," he added.
Splash on Wednesday warned on potential water cuts in Selangor after the water concessionaire was slapped with legal claims from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) amounting to RM75 million over unpaid electricity bills.