The Perlis Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) has stopped releasing water from the Timah Tasoh Dam, Beseri to padi fields to cater solely for domestic consumption as the state braces for the second wave of dry spell due to the El Nino phenomenon.

Its director, Nishad Mohamed CJ Mohd Shaffy, said he hoped farmers outside the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) area in northern Perlis, who had been receiving water from the dam for double cropping cultivation, would understand the situation.

“Water for domestic needs is more important while the padi fields could depend on scattered rainfall as forecast,” he told Bernama in Kangar today.

Nishad said the Timah Tasoh Dam was now at 56 percent of its actual reservoir capacity of 40 million cubic metres and if the water were used for irrigation, it could last for only two months instead of five months.

He said as the reservoir level had dropped to 27.59 metre from the normal level of 29.1 meter and unless water release measure was enforced, the dam could dry up like during the previous El Nino.

The Timah Tasoh Dam supplies 40 percent of northern Perlis’s domestic water needs, while Mada caters for the rest of the state.

Nisyad said the DID would submit a proposal to the state government to create a reciprocal arrangement between the Timah Tasoh Dam and the Pedu Dam in Kedah to help each other during contingency as at times one of the dams had excess capacity, prompting water to be released and wasted.

Meanwhile, Perlis Area Farmers Organisation director Shaidan Nordin said the DID decision to stop releasing water to padi fields outside Mada would hamper second cropping this year which normally run from September.

He said about 7,500 hectares of padi fields cultivated by nearly 10,000 farmers outside Mada were already affected since water was not released from the Timah Tasoh Dam to the area during the first season that began in April.

Annual padi yields of 60,000 tonnes from the areas could be halved due to water shortage, he added.

Paya Farmers Organisation chairperson Had Bakar, 61 urged the DID to reconsider the decision as some padi fields outside Mada had already been ploughed and waited for water supply for the seeds to be sown.

- Bernama