KUALA LUMPUR: The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) is drafting laws to make the labelling and use of water-efficient devices mandatory in the near future, according to its executive director Marzuki Mohammad, who said they were 80% complete with the process.
“We hope to finalise it by this year,“ he told reporters after a demonstration of water-efficient tap heads, used under a pilot project at Masjid Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, here in Cheras.
Marzuki said they will hold an engagement with stakeholders, industries and non-governmental bodies, before the law is presented in Parliament.
He added that once the law passed, it would requires some time before it can be fully implemented.
“Even with the law, we would have to allow time to educate all parties to make the transition from voluntary to mandatory. For example, it took Singapore about 10 years to move from voluntary labelling and use of water-efficient devices to mandatory,“ he said.
According to Marzuki, Australia and New Zealand were also using similar laws.
Under the proposed law, manufacturers of water-efficient devices such as fittings and washing machines must label their products according to a three-star rating.
A three-star rated product uses or dispenses between 1.5 litres to four litres of water per minute, a two-star product uses or dispenses between four to six litres of water per minute, while a one-star rated product uses or dispense between six to eight litres of water per minute.
SPAN had carried out a water audit on five schools and found that between 30% and 50% of their monthly water usage could be reduced through the use of water-efficient devices.
Marzuki added that SPAN had implemented a pilot project to install water-efficient tap heads in three mosques used for ablution before prayers, through the Selangor state government and Selangor Islamic Religious Department.
“Three-star tap heads showed a reduction of water usage by 68%.
“Worshippers used between six and 11 litres of water in between 30 and 60 seconds with the old tap heads when washing before prayers. With the three-star water efficient tap heads, they use between 2.5 litres to five litres in between 50 and 120 seconds,“ he noted.
He said in Selangor roughly five million litres of water was used per day, and that 500,000 litres could be saved if water-efficient management was implemented.
Meanwhile, SPAN through the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry, was preparing Cabinet papers to propose all new government projects involving schools, offices and public amenities to be fitted with water saving devices.
“The Cabinet Memo (papers) are being drafted, and we hope to complete them within a month or two,“ he added.
Presently, the labelling of water-efficient products is provided by housing developers, who are required to use such devices for toilet flush and urinal systems since Feb 1, 2014.
