GEORGE TOWN – Penang’s water authority may modify its feasibility study on future raw water supply expanded or modified due to Kedah’s decision to mine rare-earth elements in sensitive water catchment areas at its forests.
The Penang Water Supply Initiatives (PWSI) 2050, initially submitted in September to look into contingency plans to mitigate Penang’s raw water risks, will now be tabled for review by the state government in the first quarter of next year.
Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said the mining poses a “triple threat” of environmental destruction, land and water pollution, and raw water contamination.
PBAPP is also concerned about the impact of logging in Kedah’s Ulu Muda forest, which is a major catchment for water from the Sg Muda river.
“The initial PWSI projects were originally conceptualised to complement, and not replace, the existing Sg Muda Water Scheme and the proposed Sg Perak Raw Water Transfer Scheme for water from Perak (SPRWTS),” he said in a statement today.
Talks with Perak about the SPRWTS have been deadlocked since 2009.
Even so, the SPRWTS will take seven years to complete. Even if it starts as soon as possible, Penang’s taps would have already run dry before it is completed.
This is because Sg Muda will not be able to meet Penang’s raw water needs beyond 2025 as the state’s demand as an economic hub continues to increase. In 2020, the river yielded 1,200 million litres per day (MLD) for Penang.
The initial PWSI contingency projects proposed in 2019 included three suggestions.
The first is Package 12A, which entails the construction of a new 114 MLD treatment module at the Sg Dua Water Treatment Plant in 2021.
The second is the Sg Perai Water Supply Scheme (SPWSS) that will yield 136 MLD.
However, it will require alternative water treatment technologies to be safe for human consumption.
The third is Phase 1 of the Penang Desalination Water Supply Scheme (PDWSS) that has a potential yield of 250 MLD.
This involves the building of a desalination facility at the southern part of Penang Island. Scheduled to be commissioned in December 2024, It will address the increasing water supply needs of Balik Pulau and its surrounding areas.
“Subsequent phases may be implemented until 2050,” Jaseni said. “Since Penang is surrounded by sea, it has theoretically unlimited access to usable seawater for desalination.”
“Penang may consider the option of pursuing larger scale desalination projects to better insulate the state from long-term raw water risks until 2050. However, the price for achieving raw water security via desalination technology will be high.
“In Singapore, desalination and water recycling technologies are employed alongside conventional water treatment operations,” he noted. “The revised water price for the first 35,000 litres of domestic consumption in Singapore is now RM8.32 (S$2.74) per 1,000 litres, inclusive of water conservation tax and waterborne fee.”
Penang has the lowest water tariff rate in the country at only RM0.32 per 1,000 litres for the first 35,000 litres of domestic consumption per month. – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
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