Water in Penang dams drops below 30pct

Penang’s two main dams have seen a significant drop in raw water storage, with levels falling below 30 percent as of last Monday.

Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chief executive officer K Pathmanathan said the Air Itam Dam’s effective capacity was at 29.7 percent or 641 million litres out of a total capacity of 2,159 million litres.

The effective capacity of the Teluk Bahang Dam was at 26.4 percent with 4,810 million litres available out of a maximum capacity of 18,240 million litres.

Pathmanathan said the rate of reduction in the Air Itam Dam’s capacity has decreased from an average of 0.82 percent (17.61 million litres) per day in July to 0.51 percent (11.0 million litres) per day in the first 12 days of August.

Similarly, the Teluk Bahang Dam’s effective capacity, which is 8.45 times that of the Air Itam Dam, decreased at a slower rate, from 0.31 percent (57.10 million litres) per day in July to 0.27 percent (48.33 million litres) per day in August.

He explained that the recent low rainfall has worsened conditions. Water catchment areas at the Air Itam Dam received just 48mm of rain last month and 36mm in the first 12 days of this month, while the Teluk Bahang Dam water catchment areas saw 47mm of rain, down from 84mm during the same period last year.

He said while the current rainfall is insufficient to increase the dams’ effective capacities, it does help to slow down the rate of decrease.

To meet water demand, PBAPP releases an average of 22.16 million litres per day from the Air Itam Dam for areas including Air Itam, Farlim, and nearby regions.

In addition, 68.06 million litres per day are released from the Teluk Bahang Dam to supply Teluk Bahang, Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah, and the surrounding areas.

As such, Pathmanathan urged residents in the state to conserve water to help sustain the dams’ raw water reserves until the next rainy season.

On cloud seeding, he said the Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) informed them on Aug 9 that operations would only proceed following advice from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) and subject to the availability of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft.

As of Aug 11, recent rains have not been sufficient to improve the water levels in Penang’s dams. The Air Itam Dam’s effective capacity had decreased by 1.2 percent to 30.0 percent, while the Teluk Bahang Dam’s effective capacity fell by 0.8 percent.

- Bernama

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