Malaysia: Johor gets additional water from PUB, Singapore

CHUAH BEE KIM New Straits Times 7 Jun 16;

JOHOR BARU: Johor is now getting additional portable water supply from the Public Utilities Board (PUB).

In a press release, the republic's national water agency said it started supplying additional water from the Johor River Waterworks on Saturday (June 4) in response to a call by Badan Kawal Selia Air Negeri Johor (BAKAJ).

BAKAJ had requested for an additional six million gallons of water per day for a month.

The additional supply has increased the republic's supply of treated water to 22 million gallons daily.

"The arrangement was temporary and subject to regular review," it said.

The dry spell has affected the Linggiu Reservoir, operated by PUB, to an all-time low of 33 per cent.

Over the years PUB has supplied 16 million gallons of portable water to Johor daily.

There was a similar request by BAKAJ was from Aug 14 last year to Jan 8 this year.

Meanwhile, Syarikat Air Johor Holdings Sdn Bhd (SAJ) corporate communication chief Jamaluddin Jamal said only the Congok dam in Mersing which is current 3.59m was still below its critical level of 4.8m, and thus the water rationing exercise which had started in April had to continue.

"Water rationing in Kota Tinggi, which also started since April, has already been lifted," Jamaluddin said.


Singapore to supply Johor with more potable water to cope with dry spell
KENNETH CHENG Today Online 6 Jun 16;

SINGAPORE — The Republic has begun supplying more potable water to Johor at the request of the Malaysian state’s water regulatory body.

Since June 4, national water agency PUB has pumped in an extra six million gallons of potable water a day to Johor, the agency said in a press release on Monday (June 6).

Badan Kawalselia Air Johor had asked for the extra gallons for a month to supplement the water supply in areas served by Johor’s Sungai Layang dam, which has been hit severely by the continuing dry spell.

The extra water supply comes from the Johor River Waterworks, which PUB operates in Johor.

The agency said that this arrangement was temporary, would be subject to regular review, and would not affect Singapore’s water supply in the short term.

It is also monitoring the situation at Johor’s Linggiu Reservoir, which improves the water yield at the Johor River, from which both Singapore and Johor draw water.

PUB operates the reservoir and dry conditions have brought water levels there to an all-time low of 33 per cent, down from 40 per cent in April.

With the extra water supply, Singapore now provides 22 million gallons of potable water to Johor daily.

Under the 1962 Water Agreement, PUB may draw up to 250 million gallons of raw water from the Johor River daily. In return, Johor is entitled to receive a daily supply of treated water of up to 2 per cent — or five million gallons a day — of the raw water supplied to Singapore.

At Johor’s request, PUB has supplied about 16 million gallons of potable water per day to the Malaysian state over the years. From Aug 14 last year to Jan 8, the PUB provided an extra five to six million gallons of potable water daily to Johor, under an arrangement similar to the latest one.

The protracted drought has forced Johor to impose water-rationing measures. Since April, this has been happening in the Mersing and Kota Tinggi districts, involving about 85,000 people, Malaysian news agencies reported.

Last month, Mr Hasni Mohammad, chairman of Johor’s public works, rural and regional development committee, was quoted by agencies as saying that water rationing could be introduced by the end of May in and around Johor Baru and Pasir Gudang, affecting some 800,000 people.


Singapore supplying additional potable water to Johor: PUB
The additional 6 million gallons per day of potable water was a request for assistance from Johor's water regulatory body Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (BAKAJ), says PUB.
Channel NewsAsia 6 Jun 16;

SINGAPORE: The Republic has been supplying additional potable water to Johor since Jun 4, following a request for assistance from the Malaysian state's water regulatory body Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (BAKAJ).

PUB, the national water agency, said on Monday (Jun 6) that the current dry weather has severely affected water levels in Johor's Sungei Layang dam, and BAKAJ requested for an additional 6 million gallons per day (mgd) of potable water for a month to supplement its water supply.

PUB agreed, and has been injecting the additional supply of potable water from the Johor River Waterworks (JRWW) that it operates in Johor, the press release said.

"The arrangement is temporary and subject to regular review. This will not affect the water supply in Singapore in the short term," PUB said. It did note that the dry weather has also affected water levels in Linggiu Reservoir, which has dipped to 33 per cent, from 40 per cent in April, and is at an "all-time low".

Under the 1962 Water Agreement, PUB is entitled to draw up to 250mgd of raw water from the Johor River daily. In return, Johor is entitled to a daily supply of treated water of up to 2 per cent, or 5mgd, of the raw water supplied to Singapore.

Over the years, PUB has, at Johor’s request, supplied about 16 million gallons of potable water per day to Johor, and upped supply by an additional 5 to 6mgd of potable water from Aug 14, 2015, to Jan 8, 2016. This latest request will see Singapore temporarily supplying 22 mgd of potable water to meet Johor’s needs in the present dry weather situation, it said.

- CNA/kk

Singapore sends more potable water to Johor
AsiaOne 6 Jun 16;

Water levels in Linggui Reservoir in Johor, which is operated by the PUB, is at an "all-time low" because of dry weather.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's water agency, PUB, has started supplying additional potable water to Johor in response to a request for help from Johor's water regulatory body.

Under the 1962 Water Agreement between Singapore and Johor, PUB is entitled to draw up to 250 million gallons per day (mgd) of raw water from the Johor River. In return, Johor is entitled to treated water of up to 2 per cent (or 5mgd) of raw water supplied.

PUB said in a statement today (June 6) that Johor asked PUB to supply an additional 6mgd of potable water for a month, to supplement water supply in areas serviced by Johor's Sungei Layang dam.

Dry weather has severely affected water levels in the dam, it said.

PUB said that it started injecting additional supply of water to Johor from the Johor River Waterworks that it operates on Saturday (June 4).

PUB said that the arrangement, which is temporary, will not affect water supply in Singapore "in the short-term". However, it pointed out that water levels in Linggui Reservoir in Johor, which is operated by the PUB, is at an "all-time low" because of the dry weather.

PUB revealed in the statement that it has been supplying Johor with 16mgd of potable water "over the years". This latest request will see Singapore temporarily supplying 22mgd to meet Johor's needs.

A similar arrangement, to supply an additional 5 to 6mgd, was in place from August 14 last year to Jan 8 this year at the request of Johor, PUB said.


Johor welcomes potable water aid from Singapore
MOHD FARHAAN SHAH The Star 7 Jun 16;

Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the gesture by the island republic shows its goodwill gesture to help its neighbour during the dry spell that has hit Johor quite hard.

"However, the state government is giving focus to rectifying water woes, and we are in discussions with several agencies on the matter," he said.

Mohamed Khaled was asked to comment on the decision by Singapore's national water agency, the Public Utility Board, to supply six million gallons of water per day for a month to Johor.

This comes after the water regulatory body Badan Kawalselia Air Johor requested the aid due to the current dry weather that has affected the water level at the Sungai Layang dam.