dry spell hits us again

 

• PETALING JAYA: Dams in the Klang Valley are running low on water following the dry spell that has hit the nation. A spokesperson from Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) confirmed the water reserves were at a critical level. The increase of water demand in recent weeks had also contributed to the situation.
• “Our reserve margin is critical as it is below one per cent. The comfortable level is between  10 and 20 per cent,” the spokesperson said. Dams managed by Syabas are Sungai Selangor Dalam, Sungai Tinggi, Semenyih, Sungai Langat, Klang Gates, Subang and Sungai Batu Dalam.
• The lack of rainfall has failed to flush out the high levels of ammonia at the Bukit Tampoi and Cheras Batu 11 water treatment plants managed by the Selangor Water Management Authority Consumers have been urged to use water sparingly and be prepared for water disruptions. If the spell carries on, the  dams will start to dry up fast.
• In Seremban, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the lack of rain had caused water levels at seven dams to reach critical levels. He said the state has decided to seek the assistance of the National Security Council and the Meteorological Department to carry our cloud seeding to prevent the possibility of a water crisis in the state.
• The water level at the Durian Tunggal Dam in Malacca has also dropped but Syarikat Bekalan Air Melaka said it was still far from the critical level.
• Perak exco member Datuk Zainol Padzi Paharuddin has assured that the water supply in the state has not been affected.
• “The state’s water supply is normal, except for a slight drop at the Air Kuning dam in Taiping,” he said. If the need arises, water will be pumped in from the water treatment plant in  Bukit Merah.
• According to him, standby water tanks have been placed in Taiping as a contingency plan.
• The Malaysian Meteorological Department said 15 areas in peninsular Malaysia had not experienced rainfall for more than 20 consecutive days, as of Monday.
• Malacca, Chuping and Kluang have remained dry for the past 32 days, while no rain has been recorded in Langkawi and Butterworth for 31 and 30 days, respectively.
• Meanwhile in PETALING JAYA,  the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Wan Nor Ibrahim said Malaysia is one week away from the danger of fire reaching “critical” levels.
• He said the department had been receiving more than 300 calls a day, most of which regarding fires, compared to the usual 100 or so calls. “Since January 31, the calls have tripled and most of them were regarding bush fires started due to the hot and dry spell we are now facing,” he said. The majority of the calls came from Selangor, Johor, Perak and Terengganu, where more than 70 reports of fire were recorded from each of the states.
• “We are keeping close watch over some areas that we have identified as the hotspots. We will conduct frequent checks to ensure that if any fire breaks out, we can put it out before it gets out of control," he said.
• In Selangor, the hotspots are in Batu Arang and Banting, Batu Pahat in Johor, the stretch between Pekan and Kuantan in Pahang, and Dungun and Kemaman in Terengganu. "These are vast areas with peat soil where fires will be very difficult to put out. Wan said recent checks showed that ground water level in these hotspots was still at a safe level.
• "The ground water will only reach the critical level if there has been a drought that went on completely without any rain interval for three weeks,” he said. “So let us hope the drought would end soon.”
• He advised the public to take precautionary measures. “Try to reduce open burning activities as with the heat, even a small fire can spread. People should also make sure they put out their cigarette butts before throwing them anywhere near the grass or bushes,” he said.
• Wan said most of the fire breakouts reported over the past two weeks were due to fire caused by littered cigarette butts that were not put out properly.