Tariff increase necessary to improve water services quality, says Xavier

SEREMBAN: There is a need to increase water tariffs by few sen’s at least, to improve water services quality nationwide.

Water, Land, and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said this was because the cost of reducing wastage of treated water by one per cent could amount to between RM800 million and RM1 billion.

"The cost has increased over the years but water tariffs in the country have not changed in 20 years," he said.

Xavier told this to reporters after visiting phase four of the flood mitigation project in Sungai Linggi near here.

He was responding to a question on the status of discussions between the federal and state governments over the proposal to increase water tariffs.

Xavier said he expected talks to conclude by year end, and that it was up to the states to determine the new water tariff rates.

He assured consumers that any tariff increase would cost consumers only a few extra sen’s.

Xavier also said Malaysians who complained about the interruption of water supply and quality of water needed to understand the amount of expenditure need to run the water industry.

"To reduce even one per cent of NRW (non-revenue water), it will cost us RM800 million to RM1billion. Who's going to pay for that ?

"Increasing the water tariff means we will spend for the sake of the future. There has to be water running 365 days a year."

Non-revenue water is water that has been produced and is "lost" before it reaches the end user.

"We have to spend money make sure that water that is going down the drain today goes to areas where there is no water or water pressure is low," he stressed.

The revenue generated from the tariff hike, he added, could be spent on flood mitigation, dealing with drought, and ensuring the safety of treated water.

On the he flood mitigation project, Xavier said phase four which costs RM60 million, was approved last year and work began on April 13, 2018.

He said the flood mitigation project would benefit various areas in Negri Sembilan including Rantau, which he said was a flood prone area.