GEORGE TOWN – The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) has placed all its water intake and distributing sites on alert after floods again inundated neighbouring Baling in Kedah, reigniting concerns over mudflow again contaminating the water supply.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who confirmed this, said at this juncture the Sg Dua treatment plant in Butterworth has yet to detect any abnormalities in the raw water supply from the upstream Ulu Muda catchment areas.
He said the water authority is also on standby to release water from the Mengkuang Dam in case the Sg Dua plant is hampered by poor water quality from the Ulu Muda area.
At 11am today, the raw water turbidity at PBAPP’s Lahar Tiang Intake (along Sg Muda) had reached 261 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units), which is still at a permissible level for use, PBAPP said in a statement.
As of now, the Sg Dua plant can treat the raw water.
However, PBAPP is operating on alert and monitoring the river water’s NTU level.
In another development, PBAPP has rejected the federal environment minister’s call to tap into groundwater to meet the state’s future water needs, calling it a dangerous move.
PBAPP CEO Jaseni Maidinsa said that not only would groundwater not be enough to last until 2050, it could undermine the foundations of buildings due to a subsidence threat.
He said that besides land sinking, as detailed in a study where Kelantan was used as an example, water from the ground may be contaminated, putting Penang’s high-density population at risk.
Jaseni said Penang’s population density was at 1,695 persons per sq km in 2020.
“Kelantan is one of the highest groundwater consumers, with New Zealand researchers finding that the northern part of the state has been sinking at a rate of 4.2mm a year,” he said.
“Penang wants to reduce its water risks, but the state does not want to incur higher risks with buildings collapsing,” he said. “Furthermore, a study last year showed that Penang and northern Perak do not have reliable and sufficient groundwater reserves."
Jaseni said that the state prefers to pursue raw water imports from Perak as an alternative. – The Vibes, July 29, 2022
