Rain – but still water shortage
Published on: Sunday, April 17, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Recent wet conditions may have brought some relief to many but it has yet to bring Sabah out of a water crisis. Although rain over the past days has cleared the haze from the skies – thanks to the cloud seeding operations which started on April 7 – local water catchments and reservoirs are still losing water, according to the Water Department. Serious water supplies are badly needed in drought hit areas of the northern parts of Sabah in Banggi Island and Pitas, which have been put under Code 5 by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry early this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
While donations of mineral water have made their way to these areas to help residents, Kudat Water Department officials have expressed worry over whether recent short periods of rain have brought sufficient sustenance to the around 20,000 people living in Banggi island. "There was a little rain today (Saturday). The local water treatment plant only resumed operation in the afternoon after several hours of rain in the morning," the official told Daily Express. The treatment plant there, which can pump up to two million litres daily from Sungai Pengkalan Darat, stopped operating on April 8. About four days ago wells ran dry on the island and further worsened the water crisis even as donations of mineral water arrived from non-governmental organisations and companies.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite such aid problems faced by residents remain. It is also understood residents have had to walk a distance to get water supplies. The District Water Department said it would continue to monitor the supply, but expressed that the situation "may not be as great". Meanwhile, Deputy Director Teo Chee Kong said the water level at the Babagon Dam has continued to drop.
ADVERTISEMENT
The department currently sources additional water from the dam. "So we are pumping about 100 mega litres per day (MLD) and get about 120 MLD raw water from the dam," he said. He said the West Coast is still in the safe zone from a water crisis, noting that supply at the Telibong Water Intake in Tamparuli remained normal at present. On April 6, the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry categorised Banggi and Sebatik Island as Code 5, where water rationing had to be carried out, and areas like Tuaran, Tawau and Lahad Datu under Code 2. While the Ministry has not revised areas under Code 2, it has placed Babagon and the Milau Dam in Kudat under close watch. A Ministry source said the reason the city has not seen its water catchments replenished is that recent rains have not fallen on the right water catchment areas.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
