Kedah Menteri Besar Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah did not take kindly to calls for the state to retain its forest reserves to avert further water shortages.

"We're the state government, we know how to do our job. No need to teach us what to do," he said when asked on the call made by the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP).

CAP president SM Mohamed Idris earlier urged Kedah to stop all logging and clearing activities for plantation purposes and gazette all forested areas as reserves to conserve water catchment areas.

Several areas in Kedah including Pendang, Kuala Nerang and Padang Terap are facing severe water shortages, exacerbated by the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations last week.

CAP's call comes after the neighbouring Penang government urged a ban on logging activities in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve in Sik, Kedah, to protect the catchment area which supplies water to both states.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in his letter to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the logging ban could reduce the risk of prolonged drought recurring in the states.

The northern states were severely affected by the El Nino phenomenon earlier this year.

Kedah today also announced the use of tube wells as an interim measure to deal with the ongoing water crisis.

The state also formed a working committee to look at long-term solutions to the crisis.

"We will improve on water delivery until this crisis ends, and we do not have a time frame as to when that will be.

"We are appealing to the state government to provide us more funds for a long-term solution," Ahmad Bashah said.

The working committee is chaired by executive council member in charge of water supply, Badrul Hisham Hashion, and state secretary Bakar Din.

The committee will involve the district officer, parliamentarians, water company Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd (Sada) and other relevant state and federal agencies.