ALOR STAR: Residents in Kedah, Perlis and Penang need not worry about their water supply, as they will face a crisis only if the water level at Pedu Dam falls below 15 per cent.
Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh today said the water levels at Muda and Pedu Dams remained normal and there was no immediate cause for alarm.
"I notice that some residents are panicking following the cloud seeding carried out from July 29 to 31. They think that this means the water supply is almost depleted and dry.
"In fact, this situation is common and has happened before.
"To know whether the water situation in Kedah is critical, you can look at the storage levels at Pedu Dam, as this dam collects water from Muda Dam and Ahning Dam before it's distributed to users."
Ismail said up to today, the status of water storage at the three dams under Mada was at 41.97 per cent, with Pedu Dam at 37 per cent, Muda Dam at 7.4 per cent and Ahning Dam at 80.76 per cent.
He added that the storage at the three dams was categorised as normal and remained high compared with the lowest recorded levels.
He said the total water storage was sufficient to meet agricultural, domestic and industrial needs.
Mada did not plan to request further cloud-seeding operations as the Malaysian Meteorological Department had forecast more rain in August, September and October, he said.
"When cloud seeding is conducted, it takes time for water levels to rise because the ground absorbs the rainwater first. We hope that increased rainfall will boost the water levels at the three dams.
"Up to Aug 1, Mada's rain gauge stations have recorded 30mm of rainfall in the catchment areas of Pedu Dam and Muda Dam as a result of the three-day cloud-seeding operation."