The Star 3 Mar 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: While some Klang Valley and Putrajaya folks are well-prepared to face the month-long water rationing, some first-timers scramble to adjust to the days when the taps run dry.
Water rationing started yesterday for hundreds of thousand of households to tide over the shortage during the dry spell.
P. Thangamma, 55, who works at a clinic near her house, said she only found out about the water rationing from her neighbour at the Kampung Muhibah low-cost flats on Saturday night.
She had to scramble to store water for herself and her 19-year-old son, who is currently suffering from chicken pox.
“The heat is already unbearable and it is causing my son to feel more itchy. Now with the water rationing, it is making life even harder,” said Thangamma.
She was disappointed that no proper notice was put up in her area.
“If there were notices on the board near the lifts, people would have read it and would be prepared, instead of finding out at the eleventh hour,” she said.
Fellow resident, Zaidah Arshad, 36, said she too found out only on Saturday night and managed to store some water.
“This is the first time I’m experiencing water rationing so I am not sure how to plan for my family,” said the anxious mother of four.
Kanan Muniandy, 38, a lorry driver, had to fill up buckets with water from the firefighters’ hose reel.
“The water is murky and dirty, how can we use this for cooking, drinking and cleaning? I’m using this for my toilet,” said Muniandy, who lives on the 17th floor of the low-cost flats.
In Taman Sri Sentosa, people were seen buying water from the vending machines nearby.
Restaurant operator Amin Kassim, 60, said this was the first time he was experiencing water rationing, despite living there for several years.
With a restaurant in operation, Amin said he may need to fork out at least RM50 more to ensure his restaurant has ample water.
In Taman OUG, retired couple S. Balakrishnan and wife Annie Elizabeth said up to noon yesterday, they still had water supply.
The couple were prepared for dry taps and said the water tank supply in their home should be enough.
“I feel instead of two days, it should be every alternate day. That way it will not be difficult for us,” said Balakrishnan.
His neighbour, Goh Bee Choo, 50, said her family of seven, including two children would be spending less time at home due to the water rationing exercise.
“We will need to send our two young children to the nursery more often because of the water rationing. The nursery is situated in an area not affected by the rationing.
“At least the children will not be affected by this,” said Goh, adding that her family was also forced to eat out more.
Rains bring relief tofolk in Klang Valley
ALIZA SHAH AND THARANYA ARUMUGAM New Straits Times 3 Mar 14;
DAM LEVELS STILL FALLING: However, they will not stop water rationing, say experts
KUALA LUMPUR: DOWNPOURS and, in some cases, thunderstorms occurred in several areas in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and here yesterday, raising hopes among those experiencing water shortage.
However, water and meteorological experts agreed this was a temporary reprieve from the dry spell which would not end water woes, especially the rationing exercise being carried out in several parts of Selangor and here.
For the rationing to be lifted, Drainage and Irrigation Department water resources and hydrology director Datuk Hanapi Mohamad Noor said water levels at the Batu 11 and Klang Gates dams, the two main sources of supply to the affected areas, must at least rise beyond their normal levels.
This means that the dams have to receive 9.47m of rain, combined, to reach this optimum level. The water level at the Batu 11 dam in fact dropped yesterday to 100.42m from 100.54m on Friday. Its normal level is 102m.
Klang Gates, which had 89.94m of water on the same day, dipped to 89.89m yesterday. It needs 94m to function at optimum level.
Klang Gates covers an area of 77.16 sq km while the Batu 11 Dam covers 50 sq km.
"The rain yesterday sadly did not fall anywhere near the water catchment areas as we had hoped for," Hanapi told the New Straits Times last night.
A National Water Services Commission (SPAN) official said water rationing would continue.
However, she said, the end of water woes for those in the Klang Valley could come earlier than March 31.
This could happen by middle of this month when the inter-monsoon sets in and brings continuous heavy rain with it.
The official said prolonged downpour during the inter-monsoon season could spell an end to the water crisis in the country. However, it would be a gradual process.
"The situation will only end if the heavy rainfall occurs in the water catchment areas, especially in critical spots such as rivers in the Klang Valley, especially Sungai Selangor."
Selangor Water Management Authority director Md Khairi Selamat said for the water at the dams to increase significantly, heavy rain must fall upstream of the two dams (Hulu Gombak upwards).
"Most dams in the Klang Valley are located upstream. Hence, rain in downstream areas will not make a difference to the dams' water levels."
Meteorological Department atmospheric science and cloud seeding division director Azhar Ishak said the rains which fell in the Klang Valley yesterday were isolated showers, and that they had minimal impact on water levels in the dams.
He said the department would most likely carry out cloud seeding to induce rainfall at water catchment areas in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor today, if there were suitable clouds (towering cumulus).
Azhar said the operation could be carried out between 1pm and 2pm or tomorrow, as the required atmospheric conditions of unstable, light and variable winds were readily present.
He told the NST that the clouds would induce "moderate rainfall" for no more than an hour, some 20 minutes after the seeding.
"The process will also increase the intensity of rainfall if carried out on existing rain clouds."
In Seremban, residents welcomed the rain, even though it lasted less than two hours.
Apart from Seremban, parts of Senawang and Rembau also experienced downpours yesterday.
There, and in various parts of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, many were seen playing in the rain.
Within an hour of the New Straits Times' Facebook page putting up two pictures of rain falling in the Klang Valley, some 130 comments were received.
Facebook user Johnny Yeow was one of those who commented, saying: "Hope heavy and non-stop rain around Klang Gates (dam) to fill up the dams so no need water rationing around Selangor."
Saw Goo Moo Kajang, meanwhile, said: "Rain come ahead. Heavy and darken the whole sky. Our prayer has been answered. More of rain! Oh more of rain, just fill the drying dam. Woohoo." Additional reporting by Maizatul Ranai
Read more: Rains bring relief tofolk in Klang Valley - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/rains-bring-relief-tofolk-in-klang-valley-1.496925#ixzz2urvQx7Yb
