There is still rain around dams like Sungai Selangor in Kuala Kubu Bharu. — Filepic
WATER levels at all seven dams in Selangor are satisfactory, says state infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim.
“Water levels at three of the dams are at over 90% capacity, while the remaining four are above 85%,” he said.
“The situation at the moment is not critical. We will take precautionary measures if the water level falls to 70%,” he added.
The seven dams in Selangor are Sungai Selangor, Sungai Tinggi, Sungai Langat, Tasik Subang, Klang Gates, Batu and Semenyih.
Izham said this when asked by the media about the current hot spell and whether water levels at Selangor’s dams were affected.
“The water catchment areas still have sufficient water.
“There is still rain at the dams and upstream locations,” he said on the sidelines of the Selangor State Assembly sitting in Shah Alam.
“We will only feel the effects of the El Nino phenomenon during the second quarter of the year, sometime around June,” he said.
Petaling and Kuala Lumpur are the latest areas to join the list of places under Level 1 heatwave alerts in Malaysia, based on a Feb 29 Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) advisory.
Separately, the state government through Selangor Water Management Board (LUAS) has implemented 12 measures to address river pollution.
Public health, environment, climate change and green technology committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said 24-hour patrols were conducted through LUAS Pantas Squad.
Other measures include identifying activities within 50m of river reserves that have the potential to pollute water sources.
“These are some of the preventive and control measures,” she said in the sitting, replying to a question from Azmizam Zaman Huri (PH-Port Klang) on how the state government planned to overcome river pollution.
Jamaliah said other measures included installing water quality telemetry stations upstream as an early warning system to minimise work stoppages at water treatment plants.
“It also includes periodic monitoring of areas that have been declared protection zones under Section 48 of LUAS Enactment 1999, such as dams and alternative water source ponds.
“LUAS will also carry out enforcement action by way of confiscation, compounds or prosecution for offences related to water source pollution,” she added.
Jamaliah said the Zero Discharge Policy (ZDP) and Polluters Pay Principle (PPP) through the introduction of new regulations for Backwater Discharge and Entry or Discharge of Waste and Pollutants (State of Selangor) 2024 (ZDP Regulations) was expected to take effect in the second quarter of 2024.
She said the state government through LUAS had also imposed severe penalties against offenders of environmental crimes such as water resource pollution by amending LUAS Enactment 1999 in 2020.
“This includes an additional penalty under subsection 79(5) that any person convicted of an offence shall pay all expenses incurred by LUAS to repair or restore any pollution caused by an offence.”
At this juncture, Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi (PN-Sijangkang) highlighted an issue of ongoing odour pollution at a creek in Jalan Manggis, Telok Panglima Garang that had not been resolved for years.
“This is a result of industrialisation in the area. It has impacted the local communities and led to fights,” he said.
Jamaliah said she would look into resolving the issue using LUAS Enactment 1999.
