KOTA KINABALU: Building coastal reservoirs would be a cheaper alternative for the Sabah government to resolve the state’s water woes compared to constructing traditional dams, says Awang Husaini Sahari.
“And it has very little to no adverse effects on the ecology,” the former Putatan MP said.
“A coastal reservoir has the advantages of being less expensive to build and maintain than a dam for the same amount of water storage and it would not entail flooding a big amount of land or relocating people,” he added in a statement here on Wednesday (Aug 16).
The PKR vice-president was responding to a recent statement by International Water Association (IWA) members Datuk Dr Amarjit Singh and Lim Sin Poh pertaining to the implementation of coastal reservoirs in Sabah.
Amarjit and Lim had said that coastal dams would be a two-pronged approach towards resolving not only the water needs but also mitigating the state's perennial flood problems.
Awang Husaini concurred with the engineers’ proposal, saying that blocking the river's flow with a dam would lead to soil erosion, a biologically dead river, in addition to upsetting the region's natural equilibrium and destroying agriculture and its cultural legacy.
A dam, he added, may also create micro earthquakes due to increased water pressure, which would be bad for both the local inhabitants and plants.
He said Kepayan representative Jannie Lasimbang had previously reiterated her consistent stand on the rights of affected communities to reject a project that will affect the indigenous adversely.
“Furthermore, several water supply alternatives to the dam have been raised by experts over the years that are yet to be given due consideration.
“Dr Felix Tongkul, a former UMS lecturer and expert on water catchments, has elaborated on sustainable water reservoirs.
“Coastal reservoirs are a solution for water supply shortages and have been constructed in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and other countries,” Awang Husaini said.
The chairman of Suria Strategic Energy Resources, a Ministry of Finance Incorporated company, also lent support to a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Ali who said that the state government has to make a firm decision now on development projects that could resolve the perennial water woes in Sabah.
Awang Husaini said the state government should seriously consider doing a comparison study between a conventional dam and a coastal reservoir.
He said a coastal reservoir is a tried-and-true method for collecting rainfall by building a reservoir in the water near a river mouth.
A coastal reservoir is the best place to collect rainwater because, unlike a traditional dam that depends on precipitation, all rainwater ends up in the sea, he added.
“I think coastal reservoir technology could be the best solution for sustainable water supply not only in the west coast but in the whole of Sabah in line with the concept of Malaysia Madani,” he said.
He said the concept entails that new ideas that were beneficial to the community and the nation in particular must be considered as well as the basis of willingness to accept change by taking into account the suggestions of all levels of society.
