Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah New Straits Times 5 Mar 19;
RANTAU PANJANG: The Kelantan Drainage and Irrigation Department has been releasing water from the Bukit Kwong dam here to irrigate drought-affected farmland.
Its director Kamal Mustapha said the water level had dropped by nearly two metres since they started releasing water in January.
“The reading in January was 16m. “The department decided to release the water to help farmers in the state who are facing difficulties to obtain water supply after Sungai Golok dried up,” he said.
Kamal said, as of 2pm today, the water level was 14.81m. The normal level is 16.67m.
“The situation is still under control despite the dry spell as the dead storage capacity or critical level for Bukit Kwong dam is 12.20m,” he said.
Meanwhile, several farmers here thanked the department for resolving their problem.
“We faced difficulties when the water level in Sungai Golok dropped last week,” said Razali Abdul Raof, 61.
“We depend on the river to irrigate our farms, but since early this week, we had to stop planting new vegetables temporarily.”
Razali who grows cucumber, chilli and eggplant in Kampung Tok Deh, said he and other farmers would repair their fences while waiting for the water level in the river to rise again.
Water in six dams in Sabah may soon run out
Bernama New Straits Times 5 Mar 19;
KOTA KINABALU: While Sabah’s six dams are operating normally, the state Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony said the water will last just a few more months.
He said the reduced water output because of the long drought was already affecting some areas in Sabah.
“Apart from the dams, our tank water will also only last a few months. The problem is also occurring in villages in the interior as the source for their gravity-fed water system has dried up.
“To deal with the issue, I’ve asked the Sabah Water Department (JANS) to send an emergency supply of water. However, we’re facing a bit of a problem with not having enough water tankers.
“We know this drought is distressing and we’re hoping it will rain soon. We’re thankful it rained last night in Kota Kinabalu,” he told reporters after seeing how sewage was treated using micro-organisms at the Dah Yeh Villa pump station in Likas today.
Commenting on his visit further, he said at least three more staffers would be placed on duty at 11 pump stations in Kota Kinabalu to ensure everything goes smoothly.
“A contractor is currently repairing a broken pipe which caused a spillage in Likas. The 3km pipe should be fixed in three months,” he said.
He said the Department of Environment and Universiti Malaysia Sabah were studying samples from the pump stations
“We’re now using micro-organisms to treat sewage, and after results from the study are known, we will discuss what is an appropriate method for sewage treatment,” he said. - Bernama
Move to irrigate dried-up padi fields in Kota Belud
The Star 6 Mar 19;
KOTA KINABALU: Efforts are being made to irrigate padi fields that have dried up or drying up in Kota Belud, the state’s main rice-producing district, following the current month-long drought.
Kota Belud Integrated Agriculture Development Area director Salmah Labulla said her agency and others, including the Drainage and Irrigation Department and Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Organisation Authority, had brought in mobile water pumps.
She said that the three main areas that were badly affected by the dry spell were Botung 1 and 2, Skim Tempasuk Selatan and Kesapang, which covers a total area of 1,148.37ha.
“It is supposed to be the season for padi farmers to start planting but work has to be postponed due to the situation.
Salmah said that for dried-out padi fields, rehabilitation would be carried out soon.
She explained that padi planting up to the harvesting took about three to four months every cycle.
“After harvesting, the fields will be left to rest before farmers prepare for the next planting season,” she added.
Each hectare in Kota Belud can yield an average of 3.5 tonnes to six tonnes of padi.
Some areas can even produce up to 10 tonnes of padi per hectare under superb weather and irrigation conditions.
Bernama reported that five areas in Sabah recorded moderate Air Pollutant Index (API) readings yesterday, with the highest reading of 75 recorded in Kimanis at 11am.
According to the Department of Environment (DOE) website, apart from Kimanis, other areas with moderate API readings are Kota Kinabalu (70), Keningau (53) and Sandakan (52) while Labuan has a reading of 53.
In Tawau, the air quality was good with an API reading of 34.
