Malaysia: Congok Dam, Mersing's main source of water, has completely dried up

HALIM SAID New Straits Times 28 Aug 16;

MERSING: The Congok Dam, the main water reservoir for the Mersing district, has completely dried up.

A check at the dam, which is managed by SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd revealed shocking results as the dam, usually filled with water from Sungai Mersing, is now dry.

The base of the dam is visible, suggesting that there is hardly any water left to pump the raw water to SAJ's Tenglu Water Treatment Plant.

SAJ has maintained that the plant is still operational but at a very critical level, with a pontoon pump drawing whatever water that is left near the dam's pump station.

SAJ operation general manager for production and distribution, Elias Ismail, said the water pumping operation at the dam may only last for days.

"The dam has dried up due to the drought which has extremely affected Mersing as there has been hardly any rainfall here for the past few years," he said.

He said despite the worsening condition at the dam, the Tenglu Water Treatment Plant will still resume its operation as water in their reserve tanks could still be distributed through its supply networks.

He said SAJ started rationing water supply in Mersing since March, with two days of no water and a third day of 24-hour period of water supply.

The critical level of the Congok dam is 3.50m. The current water level at the dam is 2.50m.

The Tenglu Water Treatment Plant partially supplies treated water to 8,200 accounts or more than 40,000 users in Mersing.

The water distribution is backed up by another SAJ-managed plant, the Sungai Mersing Water Treatment Plant located about 25km away.