ALOR STAR: The Kedah government has set a minimum of 15 per cent treated water reserve target in the state by 2030 following the completion of several key water supply projects.
State Public Works, Water Supply and Water Resources, Irrigation and Drainage and Energy Committee chairman Mohamad Yusoff Zakaria said the completion of five Water Treatment Plant (WTP) upgrade projects by 2026 will significantly tackle the state's ongoing water woes.
"Insha Allah, it is expected by 2026 after the completion of these five plants and other related supply projects.
"The rate of treated water reserves in the state will begin to increase, and it is anticipated, Inshaallah, to reach the 15 per cent mark by 2030," he said during the State Legislative Assembly session at Wisma Darul Aman here today.
Yusoff said this in response to supplementary question from Rashidi Razak (Anak Bukit-PN), who expressed concerns over the current lack of treated water reserves in the state.
On Jan 17, Deputy Energy Transition and Public Utilities Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir reportedly said that Kedah has zero water reserve margin. (hyperlink: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nst.com.my/amp/news/nation/2024/01/1002...)
He said Kedah has no treated water reserves when its reserve margin is detected to be zero due to water pressure issues and lack of infrastructure.
On that basis, he said, Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd was asked to implement planning to increase the reserve margin by 15 percent as stipulated by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).
Meanwhile, Yusoff said that the current zero treated water reserve issue is caused by excessive Non-Revenue Water (NRW) rates in the state and is slated to be eliminated by 2037.
"NRW Kedah is at 50.7 percent, it is quite high... its impact is a decrease in water margin and treated water reserve.
"The NRW rehabilitation project will take 15 years starting Jan 2023 until Dec 2037. We set a target to reduce it by two per cent each year," he added.
Commenting on the delays in WTP upgrade works, Yusoff said that the projects could have been completed if previous state administrations proceeded promptly with the projects after receiving federal government allocations in 2016.
"But because the government at that time might not have felt confident with the project's assessments made, they were asked to conduct a reassessment," he added.
He added that labour shortages, cost increases, and the Covid-19 pandemic as reasons for delays in WTP construction under the current state government administration.