National Water Services Commission (SPAN) chief executive officer Ahmad Faizal Abdul Rahman said Kedah’s plan was essentially a “downstream storage” plan, where it will capture a large volume of water in tanks during the wet season.
He admitted it was likely that such projects may adversely affect Penang but said it would first require the consent of the environment and water ministry.
He said this did not come under the purview of SPAN.
“We were told that 90% of the river water flows into the sea during the wet season. Typically, we use only 5% to 10% of the water from the river flow.
“So, it is a good move to store water enough to last for one to three months as a backup during an emergency. This is water which would otherwise flow into the sea and be lost.
“The tanker system that serves to store water could also mitigate floods,” he told FMT.
Faizal said water source management remains under the state government’s purview and what had been announced could very well have been already vetted by the relevant authorities.
“Proper studies would have been made by the EPU (Economic Planning Unit) or the relevant ministries before any such project is approved.”
Faizal said what Kedah was doing was similar to “Horas” or the hybrid off-river augmentation system being implemented in Selangor.
The Horas system collects stormwater and underground water in a “horizontal collector well” and later channels it to the Sungai Selangor basin, according to the Selangor government’s portal.
Kedah plans to build Takungan Air Pinggiran Sungai (TAPS), with 14 tanks, 20m-30m deep and up to a kilometre wide, along Sungai Muda.
Also, new barrages or barriers would be built to slow down the river’s water flow, so that Kedah’s water company, Syarikat Air Darul Aman, could sufficiently draw water to irrigate padi fields and supply enough water for its population.
Menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, in announcing the project, told Penang that it should “be ready” for the likelihood of drawing just sludge or mud from its end of Sungai Muda if it refuses to compensate Kedah for water drawn from the river.
Penang had reiterated that it was drawing water from the river which flowed into its borders and is mulling legal action to stop the TAPS project from threatening its water supply from the river, which supplies the needs of 80% of its population.
Penang draws raw water from Sungai Muda which flows into its territory in Kepala Batas and treats its water in Butterworth.