THERE is an urgent need for the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) CEO and his team to improve on crisis management and contingency planning to overcome sudden disruptions in water supply.
The recent breakdown in water supply in many parts of Penang island has caused misery to hundreds of thousands of consumers.
This is the third time that consumers in Penang have faced sudden water cuts over the last year.
The CEO and his team will need to work hard to regain consumer confidence in PBAPP’s ability to supply water reliably.
While sudden disruptions in water supply are unavoidable, proper crisis management and professional contingency planning to mitigate adverse impact must be put in place.
The cause of the latest round of water supply cuts is due to PBAPP’s inability to source and treat water from Sg Muda, which supplies 80% of Penang’s water needs.
Whether Sg Muda dried up through an accident or not near the barrage on the Kedah side of the river is still to be determined. What then about our strategic water reserve of the Mengkuang Dam with its capacity of 86,400 million litres of water?
The expanded Mengkuang Dam began construction in 2011 after the then state government surrendered PBAPP’s assets in exchange for a federal government grant.
The grant expanded the Mengkuang Dam by more than three times its size and also constructed a water pipe transferring 300 million litres a day from the Mengkuang Dam to the Sg Dua treatment plant. Both were duly completed by 2017.
I had said that even if there is no rain in Penang for a year, the expanded Mengkuang Dam will cover Penang’s water needs (20% of water demand sourced in Penang). This can be proven as follows:
- 20% of Penang’s water needs of 1,000 million litres per day or 200 million litres per day in 2011 were supplied by raw water sourced in Penang;
- The 86,400 million litres in Mengkuang Dam can supply the needs of 200 million litres per day for a period of 432 days – more than one year.
- With the Mengkuang Dam currently being 88% full, 432 days times 88% can still cover up to 380 days of Penang’s water needs of 200 million litres per day, which is more than a year.
The Mengkuang Dam, as an emergency and/or drought water reserve, gives us water security should Penang face a severe drought. As a small state receiving less rainfall than Kedah, the likelihood and risk of a prolonged drought in Penang is higher than Kedah.
The problem we face now is not the lack of rain in Penang, but a sudden cut in raw water supply in Sg Muda. The unexpected has happened repeatedly recently.
In the event that Sg Muda dries up for a few days, where do we get the 80% of Penang’s water needs? This is where the Mengkuang Dam with its 86,400 million litres of raw water can cover the 1,000 million litres of raw water daily required in an emergency.
What is needed is to construct new pipes that can transfer 1,000 million litres to the Sg Dua water treatment plant.
For this reason, all Penangites should support PBAPP in its efforts to source funding whether through its own funds, or allocations from the federal or state government to urgently construct the 1,000-million-litre water pipe from the Mengkuang Dam to the Sg Dua treatment plant.
It is regrettable that some political parties such as PAS try to politicise water by siding with Kedah against Penang. As Penangites we should put Penang’s interests first regardless of our political differences. Water should not be politicised but provided to all Penangites as our right and not privilege.
Finally, having sufficient raw water from water dams is not enough. We must have adequate water treatment plants and the requisite water pumping stations to ensure water pressure is sufficient to reach high-rise flats.
We must also repair leaking pipes to prevent water loss with non-revenue water rising from 20% to 26%. Any failure to do one of these four essential steps will lead to some areas not having water supply.
Work towards professional contingency planning and resolve water problems together. – The Vibes, May 18, 2023
Lim Guan Eng is Bagan MP and former Penang chief minister
