JOHOR BARU: The Johor government has lined up a number of projects to alleviate the water crisis that has plagued the state for the last few years.
During the tabling of Johor’s 2016 Budget last year, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said three water treatment plants would be built under a RM430 million allocation by the state government.
The plants will be built in Buloh Kasap in Segamat, Pagoh in Muar and Kahang in Kluang.
He also said all old water pipes would be replaced.
Last October, the state government approved a RM4 million project to transfer additional raw water to two dams hit by critically-low water levels.
Khaled said the project was expected to provide up to 30 million litres of additional raw water per day to the Sungai Layang and Sungai Lebam dams.
The project will transfer between 10 and 15 million litres of raw water per day (mld) via a 15.3km-long network of pipes from Sungai Papan to Sungai Lebam.
Another 15mld will be transferred via a 5km-long network of pipes from Sungai Tiram to the Sungai Layang dam.
In March, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the Federal Government had approved a RM100 million allocation for a water transfer project to channel raw water to the Sungai Layang Dam in Pasir Gudang.
Petronas is also developing the RM1.3 billion Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) Raw Water Supply Project (Pamer), which would churn out 260 mld.
Of this, 230 mld is for the PIC, while the remaining 30 mld would be supplied to the Sungai Lebam Reservoir to supplement the state’s water supply for public consumption in Pengerang.
The state government is exploring the possibility of using underground water as an alternative source of raw water.
State Public Works and Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said there was a need for the state to identify new sources of raw water to ensure continuous supply.
“Now, 99 per cent of our raw water supply comes from surface water. With the development that we are experiencing, there is a need for us to find alternative water sources and the two sources that have been identified are rainwater harvesting and underground water,” said Hasni.
He said the proposal to use underground water was made during the Johor Water Forum last year.
“During the forum, Professor Dr Kotaro Takemura from the Japan Water Forum conducted a study and found that several areas in Johor, namely Gunung Pulai and Tiram, have potential big reserves of underground water.
The state government initially planned to send a delegation to the Fukuoka and Kumamoto prefectures in Japan in April this year to explore the technology used to extract underground water.
However, the visit was postponed due to the earthquake in Kumamoto in April this year.
Most recently, the Johor government approved an immediate allocation of RM50 million to alleviate the water crisis in Mersing.
This will allow work to proceed on a 30km water transfer project to help the Tenglu Water Treatment Plant in Sungai Lenggor.
SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Abdul Wahab Abdul Hamid said under the 11th Malaysian Plan, a second dam would be built in Mersing.
Once completed, it will be the biggest dam in Mersing.
A private consultant has been
appointed by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry to prepare a feasibility report on the dam.
About 40,000 people in Mersing have been hit by water rationing for the past five months as severe drought had depleted the water source at the Congok Dam.
Another dam that is under construction in Kahang, near Kluang, will be completed under the 11th Malaysia Plan.