Malaysia: Johor dams critically low

ZAZALI MUSA The Star 3 Mar 16;

JOHOR BARU: Water levels at the Sungai Layang and Sungai Lebam dams remain critically low even after the transfer of additional raw water from Sungai Tiram and Sungai Papan respectively.

SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd corporate communications head Jamaluddin Jamil said the pumping of raw water from the two rivers into both dams began at the end of last year.

The critical level at the Sungai Layang dam is 23.50m, and 12.27m at the Sungai Lebam dam.

“The raw water transfer is only a temporary measure to boost water levels as we are still depending on rain water to fill the two dams,” said Jamaluddin.

He said that Sungai Tiram had channelled about 30 million litres of water per day (MLD) to the Sungai Layang dam while Sungai Papan transferred 24 MLD to the Sungai Lebam dam.

The RM4mil raw water transfer project is funded by the state government and carried out by SAJ Holdings via a 15.3km-long network of pipes from Sungai Papan to the Sungai Lebam dam.

“Water supply from the two dams is still manageable but we want consumers to use water wisely to ensure there will be no water supply disruptions,” said Jamaluddin.

He said SAJ Holdings would do its best not to implement scheduled water rationing, which had caused inconvenience to thousands of consumers from August to December last year.

The Sungai Layang dam supplies water to 580,000 consumers, mostly industrial users, in Pasir Gudang and Masai, and several parts of Johor Baru.

The Sungai Lebam dam in Kota Tinggi channels water to about 66,496 users in Mukim Tanjung Surat, Mukim Pantai Timur, Mukim Pengerang and parts of Kota Tinggi.

Raw water from Sungai Tiram is chanelled via a 5km-long network of pipes to the Sungai Layang dam.

Jamaluddin said focus would be given to the Sungai Layang dam as the water level there was largely determined by the rainfall patterns within the catchment areas.

He said the water level at the Sungai Lebam dam, on the other hand, was more or less “secured” compared with the Sungai Layang dam.