Malaysia: Cloud seeding to start this week

New Straits Times 19 Feb 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: A cloud seeding exercise will be carried out near water catchment areas this week to prevent a water crisis here and in Selangor.

Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said yesterday the recent lack of rainfall had caused dam levels to drop, prompting the need for cloud seeding.

"The exercise will be carried out this week as the water reserves at several dams are already at critical levels," he said at the Malaysian Power & Water Summit 2014 here.

Mahdzir said last week, water reserve levels at the Sungai Selangor and Klang Gate dams had fallen to 58 and 57 per cent, respectively.

He said the water reserves could fall below critical levels if the drought persisted.
The levels at the Sungai Selangor dam, for instance, could drop to as low as 40 per cent without rainfall within the next 20 days.

Mahdzir said the Cheras Batu 11 and Bukit Tampoi water treatment plants remained closed because of the high level of ammonia pollution.

Ammonia pollution at Cheras Batu 11 was at 4.15ppm, while at Bukit Tampoi, it was 5.1pmm. Ammonia levels need to be lower than 1.5ppm to be considered acceptable.

Dry and cloudless now, so seeding put on hold
The Star 19 Feb 14;

PETALING JAYA: The Meteorological Depart­ment’s decision to carry out cloud seeding has been put on hold due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Its director Alui Bahari said cloud seeding could only be carried out in suitable atmospheric conditions.

“The department has had several meetings on cloud seeding but the decision to carry it out has been put on hold due to unfavourable weather conditions.

“Cloud seeding operations may not be successful if it is carried out now due to the current weather.

“The weather is quite dry now and it is cloudless. If we do it now, the success rate will be low so we need to wait until the atmosphere is quite suitable.

“If there are no clouds, then nothing can be done,” he told The Star yesterday.

The department, he said, was constantly monitoring the changes and would carry out the cloud seeding operation once there were changes in the atmospheric condition.

According to its website, cloud seeding was carried out over dams in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, and Langat, Klang Gate, Semenyih and Sungai Tinggi in the Klang Valley over the years during dry spells.

Earlier yesterday, Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid had said that the Govern­ment planned to carry out cloud seeding around water catchments this week to prevent a water crisis in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.