PUTRAJAYA: The Environment and Water Ministry’s (Kasa) plan to introduce a National Water Grade system has received positive feedback from Kedah, Pahang, Johor and Kelantan, said its minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
He said the system would enable the state governments to generate more income by selling raw water according to grades to water treatment operators.
Under the system, raw water would be divided into four grades, namely grade one to grade four, whereby the grade one water would be sold at a higher price due to a cheaper treatment cost.
“We are proposing a mechanism to allow state governments to generate more income, especially when the water resources are protected well,” he said in a news conference after the ministry’s first anniversary celebration here, today.
He said currently, the state governments were selling raw waters to water treatment operators at the same price without taking into account the grade and quality of the water.
Meanwhile, Kasa secretary-general Datuk Seri Ir Dr Zaini Ujang has given the assurance that the water tariff would not increase with the implementation of the water grading system.
“When the raw water quality is better, operator companies can reduce their operating costs such as on chemical and electricity usage,” he said.
In a related development, Zaini said the ministry would set up a National Water Department which comprised the Irrigation and Drainage Department, Water Supply Division and Sewerage Services Department, to integrate the country’s water and environment sectors.
He added that the ministry would also set up an Environment Commission at the end of this year to drive environmental conservation efforts through legal regulation and autonomy in revenue generation, besides facilitating coordination between the federal, state and local governments and the private sector. — Bernama
