The Star 7 Apr 16;
ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor is confident of getting through the long dry spell without having to ration its water despite falling levels at its 15 dams.
“Water rationing would be the last resort,” said state Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammed. “The dams are able to supply two to three months of water if there is no rain.”
He acknowledged that in the past the state had to resort to water rationing, sometimes for up to four months, due to critical levels at the Sungai Lebam and Sungai Layang dams.
He said the state was taking steps to avoid a recurrence, including starting a project to fill up the Sg Layang dam and transferring water from Sungai Seluyut to the Sungai Lebam dam.
Also, state water authorities have been directed to find alternative sources of water that can be pumped into the dams, and to start cloud seeding operations.
Its 44 water treatment plants are functioning normally, supplying some 1.7 billion litres of treated water daily.
No water rationing needed in Johor, says exco man
NELSON BENJAMIN The Star 6 Apr 16;
ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor is confident that it can weather the dry spell without water rationing despite the decreasing levels in the 15 dams state-wide.
State Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammed said water rationing will be the last resort because the dams now have supply for two to three months even if there is no rain.
He added that the dry spell is expected to last until June.
He said that in the past the state had to resort to water rationing, sometimes for up to four months, because of critical levels at the Sg Lebam and Sg Layang dams.
"We have now started the Raw Water Project to Rapid project to fill up the Sg Lebam dam which will be operational by next month and the water transfer to the Sg Layang dam from Sg Seluyut which will be completed by the end of the year," he told reporters here on Wednesday.
Hasni stressed that although both dams are considered the "worst" because of their critical water levels, the state is confident that its measures will be able to resolve the problem.
He said the state water authorities have also been directed to identify alternative water sources for the dams and carry out cloud-seeding operations.
"I ask the public not to panic but instead be wise when using water," he said, adding that all 44 water treatment plants in the state were functioning normally, pumping out 1,700 million litres of treated water to Johoreans each day.
Hasni also directed all agencies such as the Department of Environment and the Drainage and Irrigation Department to monitor effluents being discharged into the waterways.
"Our Sultan Ismail water treatment plant, which draws water from Sg Skudai, always has problems because of the poor water quality," he said.
No water rationing for Johor
AHMAD FAIRUZ OTHMAN New Straits Times 6 Apr 16;
ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Johor government will not resort to water rationing, but instead continue with raw water transfer projects to boost the levels at two dams faced with critically low reserves.
State Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said various measures have been put in place after the state faced water rationing in three districts last year.
"Regardless of the extent of the El Nino affect, we managed to put in place various projects that will be developed to handle (effects of the) severe weather condition.
"Unlike last year, when the only option was to resort to water rationing, starting from this year, upon completion of the various ongoing projects, we will not be adopting rationing as a step to overcome such issues," Hasni told reporters at Kota Iskandar today.
He said the Petronas Raw Water Supply Project to RAPID (Pamer) slated to be completed next month will transfer 30 million litres per day of raw water to Sungai Lebam, Kota Tinggi.
Another RM100 million project approved by the federal government will transfer raw water from Seluyut Dam to the Upper Layang Dam and has also started.
On Tuesday, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said the government was keeping a close watch on six dams in four states, which included the Lebam Dam and Layang Dams in Johor because their raw water levels dipped to 30 per cent and below.
