GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) is drawing water from the Expanded Mengkuang Dam in Seberang Perai to sustain supply to consumers.
PBAPP chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said an average of 41 million litres per day (MLD) had been drawn since Saturday (July 13) to complement raw water from Sungai Muda, which has dipped below 2.0m at its Penang side for four consecutive days.
He said on Friday (July 12), the level at Kedah's Muda Dam was reported to be 16.6% .
He said the maximum drawdown capacity of the Mengkuang dam is 600MLD.
"The raw water from the Mengkuang dam and Sungai Muda is channelled to the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant, the largest and most important one in Penang.
"Treated water from this plant is pumped to about 465,000 consumers throughout Seberang Perai as well as in the North-East and South-West Districts on the island," he said in a statement on Monday (July 15).
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Pathmanathan said the daily drawdown ensures that the Sungai Dua plant continues to produce an average of 1,026.59MLD of treated water.
He said the low level of Sungai Muda on the Penang side was also a concern.
It had dropped below the 2.0m "safe" level from Thursday to Sunday (July 11 to 14), he added.
He said PBAPP took an average of 1,125.50MLD of raw water from Sungai Muda last week, slightly below the 1,196.13MLD under normal circumstances, constituting more than 80% of the raw water originating from this river.
"Kedah has the option to release more water from its Beris Dam to increase the level of Sungai Muda.
"This measure will avoid any major issues at 14 treatment plants in Kedah and the Sungai Dua plant in Penang," he said.
He said however that the present low level of Sungai Muda should not pose an immediate threat to water supply in Penang.
However, PBAPP is monitoring the status of Sungai Muda as it is Penang's primary raw water resource.
"We would also like to seek the understanding and cooperation of all consumers to use water wisely in Penang because the river level is low and the reserves of the Muda Dam have been depleted," Pathmanathan said.
