GEORGE TOWN – The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) has advised people to be prudent in their use of water as the three major dams in the state have dropped below the optimum level.
Its chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said as of yesterday, the effective capacity of Teluk Bahang Dam was 64.2%, lower than the 86.4% recorded in the same period last year.
"For Air Itam Dam, it was 84.1% last year compared to 84.7% this year, while for Mengkuang Dam, it was 92.8% in 2022 and 87.2% this year. The optimum level for dams is more than 90%,” he said in a statement today.
He said the low effective capacity was due to the lower amount of rainfall recorded last year and the water supply crisis at the Sg Dua water treatment plant near here.
The water supply disruption forced PBAPP to maximise the discharge of raw water from the Air Itam and Teluk Bahang dams, he said.
Pathmanathan said records showed that 873.5mm of rainfall was recorded in Air Itam Dam between September and December last year, while Mengkuang Dam had 1,541mm and Teluk Bahang Dam had 1,169mm.
He said to meet the demand for water during the year-end festivities last year and the coming Chinese New Year, PBAPP had optimised the production of treated water at the Sg Dua LRA, apart from pumping more treated water to the island and Seberang Prai.
PBAPP would not schedule any pipe works until after Chinese New Year so that consumers could clean their houses without any disruption, he said. – Bernama, January 12, 2023
