GEORGE TOWN: Penang is in danger of becoming water stressed as early as next year, former Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said today.
The state’s ability to ensure adequate water supply to some 1.7 million households here would be compromised, he said.
According to him, engineers from the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) confided this in him, pointing out the risks posed by proposed roads out of Penang Hill under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTPN).
“Penang Hill is a water catchment area,” said Teh, who quit the DAP to join Pasti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) in 2013. “It is the basin for the island. If we develop infrastructure there such as the proposed PIL1 highway, it may reduce our ability to entrap rainwater.”
He said 80% of Penang’s water supply is from Sungai Muda which runs from Ulu Muda in Kedah. The proposed second water source is from Sungai Perak. The other 20% is derived from Penang Hill and the three dams, he said.
Water supply from Sungai Muda is threatened by logging in Ulu Muda, he said, adding that there were reports of plastic waste polluting the streams due to the mushrooming of recycling plants in Sungai Petani.
Another factor would be the surge in residents due to reclamation on both the northern to southern coasts of the state, he said.
Teh projected that at least 200,000 people would to stay in the commercial and home properties at the Gurney Whaft project.
PBAPP CEO Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said what Teh had brought up was realised by the state back in 2009. It had engaged with Perak and Kedah to ensure enough water supply, he pointed out.
He said one of the best ways to encourage conservation is to raise the water tariff in Penang, which is among the lowest in the country.
Jaseni also spoke about the possibility of having a regional water authority to oversee water supply in Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Penang.
“It is one of the proposals to streamline the supply of water and to make it cost efficient in the region,” he added.
