Malaysia: Phase three of water rationing commences

vincent tan The Star 10 Mar 14;

PETALING JAYA: For some Klang Valley residents undergoing the start of Phase three of water rationing on Monday, preparation and usage reduction are supposed to be the order of the day.

Yet, there were some taking advantage of the fact that they were living in Zone 1 areas (which only commences rationing on Wednesday) to use water for non-essential activities such as car-washing and watering plants.

Rukun Tetangga SS2B’s chairman Willie Tan Kim Tun said he could still see residents in his area doing the above, despite the fact that people were now supposed to be reducing their usage.

“It is not even waste reduction now, but usage cutdown now,” said Tan, adding that several SS2 residents, alongside himself, had already begun stocking up water even before SS2 was announced as one of the areas in the Phase 3 rationing.

Some households in the Zone 2 areas which began rationing on Monday, are living off the reserves in their water tanks, but still stocked up anyway.

Taman Kinrara 1 resident Catherine Lim said her household, and a few other neighbours, had done their “spring cleaning” and other major cleanups before

“Everybody had a good bathe, even the dogs, and we washed all the major items like bedsheets and fabrics before the start of rationing,” said Lim.

Even then, she said, the household had prepped three 100l water containers for each bathroom, with smaller buckets for toilet use.

Some outdoor shop proprietors have reported high sales of water filters and even water purification chemicals from customers who stated the water rationing exercise as a cause.
“Several buyers came in asking for water purification tools, partly because they are new, and also because this rationing exercise made them think about the next time there is a water shortage,” said V. Veeraksana, an outdoor shop manager in SS15.

Six areas record unhealthy API readings
The Star 10 Mar 14;

PETALING JAYA: Six areas have recorded unhealthy air pollutant index (API) levels on Monday.

As of 3pm, Nilai recorded a reading of 112, Seremban recorded a reading of 104, Banting recorded 116, Port Klang recorded 135, Putrajaya recorded 107, and Shah Alam recorded a reading of 101.

Shah Alam recorded a borderline unhealthy ozone level, which may lead to some chest discomfort, cough, and shortness of breath.

Seremban and Putrajaya are also two areas that recorded readings at the border of moderate and unhealthy levels.

An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy), and 301 and above (hazardous).

The API is calculated based on five major air pollutants, namely Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ground Level Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a diameter below 10 micrometers (PM10).

Most of these pollutants come from various sources such as industries, motor vehicles, open burning and power generation.

The concentrations of these five pollutants are measured in 52 automatic air quality stations throughout Malaysia, mainly located in industrial and urban areas.