Raw water from Mengkuang Dam can only be channelled to Sungai Dua WTP and cannot be pumped to any other WTP or dam in the state. — Filepic
MENGKUANG Dam in mainland Penang is not a “daily dam” but a strategic drought reserve dam, says Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan.
Unlike the dams in Ayer Itam and Teluk Bahang, he said, Mengkuang Dam was a reserve that supported the Sungai Dua water treatment plant (WTP).
“We do not draw raw water from Mengkuang Dam when there is sufficient water extracted from Sungai Muda to support 100% of the treated water production at Sungai Dua WTP.
“In March this year, we extracted an average of 1,254 million litres per day (MLD) of water from Sungai Muda to produce 1,028MLD at Sungai Dua WTP.
“We draw water from Mengkuang Dam only when we cannot extract 1,254MLD from Sungai Muda,” he said in a statement.
Pathmanathan was responding to DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng’s call for PBAPP to urgently improve its crisis management and contingency planning after the recent water supply disruptions in the state.
Lim, who is also former PBAPP chairman and the former chief minister, said PBAPP should urgently build a pipeline that could transfer 1,000MLD to Sungai Dua WTP, which he said could hold 86.4 billion litres after its 2017 expansion.
Pathmanathan, however, said there were two key physical limitations for the use of the expanded Mengkuang Dam.
“This dam’s maximum drawdown capacity is 300MLD.
“As such, the expanded Mengkuang Dam, by itself, can only support 23.9% of the full capacity of Sungai Dua WTP,” he said.
He said the raw water from Mengkuang Dam could only be channelled to Sungai Dua WTP.
“This raw water cannot be pumped to any other WTP or dam in the state.
“It is meant to serve Sungai Dua WTP as a back-up raw water resource when Sungai Muda levels run low.
“PBAPP has been drawing water from Mengkuang Dam during emergencies such as the one that occurred on May 14,” he said.
According to Pathmanathan, PBAPP may only draw down 300MLD until the Federal Government completes the Mengkuang Dam Expansion Project (MDEP) to increase the draw-down capacity to 1,000MLD.
“The MDEP started in 2011 and it is still incomplete.
“The 86.4 billion litres stored in the dam cannot be transferred freely to any other WTP or dam in Penang.
“It is not physically possible at this point.
“Due to high water demand this year, water supply for all consumers in Penang may only be sustained at 100%, on a 24/7 basis, if all the state’s four dams and nine water treatment plants function optimally,” he said.
Pathmanathan said the service area of Sungai Dua WTP encompassed 453,954 residential and business premises throughout Seberang Prai and also the southwest district on the island.
