JOHOR BARU: Johor has taken steps to ensure that taps remain running throughout Hari Raya Aidilfitri, says Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
He said the hot weather has caused water levels to drop at some of the dams and water tanks in several areas in the state.
“I have asked (water operator) Ranhill SAJ to make the necessary preparations to overcome the lack of water supply in some districts.
“It will be mobilising 27 lorries with water tanks and 294 static water tanks at hotspots throughout the state as part of its Aidilfitri operations from Wednesday (April 3) until April 17,” he said.
He added that high water consumption is expected from April 9 until April 14.
Other ongoing measures include activating the water supply rezoning system at the Layang 2 water treatment plant to supply water to the Kempas, Bukit Indah and Pandan areas; installing a booster pump at the Mengkibol water tank in Kluang; and activating inline injection, which uses 42- to 45-tonne tanker lorries to increase water supply via fire hydrants.
Besides that, Onn Hafiz added in a Facebook post on Wednesday that 1.4km of the distribution system from the Layang-Layang water tank has also been upgraded.
“The use of a pontoon pump as an alternative to extract raw water from the Sembrong Barat dam to the Sembrong Barat water treatment plant has been proposed to increase the supply of treated water.
“The state government is taking the water supply issue seriously, whether it is for the people’s daily consumption or industrial usage.
"Hopefully the measures taken will stabilise the state’s water supply especially with the festive season coming soon,” he said.
On Tuesday (April 2), state works, transportation, infrastructure and communication committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh reportedly said three dams in Johor – the Sembrong dam in Ayer Hitam, Bekok dam in Segamat and Machap dam in Simpang Renggam – are nearing critical levels.
As a result of the scorching weather, the three dams are projected to supply water for only up to 55 days if there is no rainfall until April 30, he said, although the other 13 dams in the state were still at manageable levels.
