“The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has monitored the dams and I don’t see any serious effects,” he said today.

“At present, it’s still okay, but if we find a situation where we need to do something else, then SPAN will use its prerogative to decide whether to impose water rationing or not in the affected areas,” Bernama reported him as saying.

He said the Natural Disaster Management Agency had approved an allocation of RM510,000 for the Kedah state government to tackle the drought.

Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Kedah, Pahang and Kelantan are most affected by the drought, while the capacity of three dams has dropped: Muda, Kedah, is at 58.9%; Machap, Johor, 55.61%; and Sembrong, Johor, at 54%.

Xavier said the government also planned to build a dam in Tawau, Sabah, to overcome water supply problems in the area.

With the dry spell expected to last until May, a water research organisation has called for any water rationing to be carried out in a systematic and appropriate manner, especially in areas where the dam levels are at 50%.

S Piarapakaran, president of the Association of Water and Energy Research, said careful planning should be carried out before rationing was imposed. Among measures to be taken would be to give consumers at least two weeks’ notice in order to avoid “panic consumption”.

Piarapakaran did not believe the government would need to declare a water emergency as provided for by the Water Services Industry Act.

“If the water margin reaches 40%, maybe it (an emergency) can be considered … however, so far, we have never announced a ‘water emergency’,” he told Bernama.

The act empowers the water minister to prohibit the use of water in general or for specified purposes, to limit the use and discharge of water at any given time, and to impose additional charges for usage exceeding the prescribed limits.