Protemp Group of Companies

KUALA LUMPUR: There is insufficient water supply in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to fulfill the rising demand of consumers.

Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) chief executive officer Datuk Ruslan Hassan said the water supply capacity in the three states was 4,326 million litres per day (MLD) and the average production between June 1 and July 11, was 4,086 MLD. 

"This shows that the reserve capacity is only 240 MLD or 5.9 per cent," he said in a statement here today.

Ruslan said, with the increase of four per cent in demand over the first six months this year, the water supply reserve would continue to drop and become critical. 

"This is very worrying, especially if there is a serious drought or if the raw water supply in the water catchment area or rivers is badly polluted, which can cause the water treatment plants to be closed," he said. 

Ruslan was commenting on Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's remarks yesterday that water supply in the state was sufficient until 2019.

Ruslan said Syabas had, and was still having difficulties to fulfill demands for water supply, especially after a disruption, due to the low reserve capacity and rising demands. 

He said several water treatment plants had also been forced to continue non-stop operations beyond their original capacities over the past few years to meet consumer needs. 

These included the Sungai Langat water treatment plant which had been operating for 450 MLD, despite its original capacity of 386 MLD, and the Semenyih water treatment plant which was operating for between 580-620 MLD despite its capacity of 565 MLD.

"Hence, the water treatment plants could hardly undergo maintenance works on time, for fear the water supply would be affected," said Ruslan. - Bernama