PAPAR: The State Government has agreed to carry out cloud seeding in several districts to improve the water supply situation, said Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.
Shahelmey, who is also Public Works Minister, said the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor agreed that we should do cloud seeding to trigger rain in the upstream area so that the water in rivers will increase.
“This in turn can supply water to affected water treatment plants and areas that use gravity water supply,” he said after visiting the Limbahau EWSS water treatment plant, Thursday.
“The District Office, the Department of Internal Affairs and its committee and Nadma will study the feasibility. Given the prolonged drought, we expect it to continue for two more months, but let’s pray as it rained yesterday,” he said.
“That is a weather factor. From a technical point of view, we will find a solution to continue supplying water to the people.”
Officials from the Drainage and Irrigation Department inspecting the parched padi fields in Membakut.
Shahelmey apologised for the confusion caused by the water supply disruption notice for 10 days issued by the Sabah State Water Department following maintenance work at the Moyog Water Treatment Plant on Wednesday.
He said the notice was confusing, which resulted in anger and various criticisms on social media.
“I discussed the notice with the Water Department Director and I found it unclear. I checked with the Jetama CEO to ensure the maintenance works be completed. If not, it may cause more critical disruptions in future. Due to the maintenance work, the water reduction at the Moyog Water Plant was only reduced by 2MLD from 189MLD to 187MLD.
“Nevertheless, Jetama is committed to topping up the loss of 2MLD from the Moyog Plant, which will be replaced by the Kasigui Plant. Kasigui currently operates at 53MLD and can top up another 2MLD to make it 55MLD.
“So, in terms of arithmetic disruption of the maintenance work line of 2MLD Moyog Plant will be replaced by Kasigui Plant.
“I asked the Sabah Water Department to revoke the misleading notice. The 10-day disruption made the people panic. It was a misinterpretation,” he said.
Earlier, Shahelmey dismissed Warisan MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis’s claim of a water crisis in the state, saying the Kota Belud MP’s remarks were “extreme”.
“What we are facing at the moment is water shortage due to climate change and delays in the implementation of certain projects. Besides that, our non-revenue water (NRW) rate is high, making up around 50pc (of water used) in the state and about 38pc in Kota Kinabalu itself.
“So, if we can bring the NRW rate down to less than 35pc and implement projects like the Papar dam, then we will have stable water supply for the next two to three decades,” he said.
Shahelmey said the Sabah Government must pay attention to the effects of climate change and economic activities in its water infrastructure planning.
He said allocating large pieces of land for plantations, for example, could affect the “nature of water catchment” areas and, in turn, Sabah’s water resources.
The Sabah water department conducted a major cut-off of illegal water connections in Sepanggar two months ago.
NRW refers to water lost before it reaches the consumer and which is not billed, leading to financial losses.
