TA Research pointed out that rainwater harvesting has been widely accepted as an alternative water resource, but the utilisation was still limited in Malaysia as a result of long return on investment and poor public acceptance.
PETALING JAYA: The National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim) is seeking strategic partners to work out a business plan to commercialise and mass produce its bottled water sourced from rainwater harvesting.
The government institute, involved in hydraulics and water environment research and consulting, had successfully carried out research on harvesting rainwater for drinking purposes and came out with bottled “skyjuice” branded CloudRain and Raindrop, according to TA Research.
The brokerage, which visited Nahrim on Tuesday, pointed out that rainwater harvesting has been widely accepted as an alternative water resource, but the utilisation was still limited in Malaysia as a result of long return on investment and poor public acceptance.
This led to Nahrim carrying out the research to explore the utilisation of rainwater as an alternative water resource.
Quoting Nahrim deputy director-general Mohd Zaki Mat Amin, TA Research wrote in its report that there was a tendency for rainwater to fall near downstream rather than upstream where most dams were located due to climate change.
“To solve the problem of water storage, Nahrim is developing a natural underground water storage system known as aquifer as a long-term solution. This allows usage of water above ground during wet season and alternating to using water from the aquifer during dry season,” the brokerage explained.
“The changing nature of climatic factors has a different impact on agriculture-based areas, periods and crops. Rainfall variability increases the level of environmental stress, which adversely affects the ability of the system to maintain productivity,” it added.
Meanwhile, TA Research pointed out Nahrim was concerned about the impact of the rising sea level on the development of Malaysia’s coastal zones, noting this was a critical issue underpinning the continued sustainable growth of Malaysia’s key urban and rural centres, many of which were located in the coastal zones.
“It will greatly impact the shape of the coastlines, and ultimately result in shoreline erosion (loss of land), loss of development opportunities, decrease in land value, as well as increased exposure of human life and property to coastal hazards,” it said.
“There are many critical urban areas located within coastal areas with high risk of flooding. It is crucial to disseminate clear information on the impact of coastal hazards on the private properties located within the potential zones of coastal flooding.
“Any new developments within such areas should adopt the retreat programmes, higher platform levels and sufficient drainage system to accommodate future needs for extremes event,” it added.
TA Research said it was up to property and land developers to use the input.
On this note, Nahrim’s data should be valuable input to property and land developers in coming up with their project masterplans.
