Water Watch Penang president Chan Ngai Weng warned that such incidents would inevitably reoccur.

Chan said Penang should look into securing desalinated water from the ocean.

For now, however, there was a need to set up the proposed Sungai Muda river basin authority, co-managed by Kedah and Penang and helmed by water experts.

Penang draws water from Sungai Muda, which flows through its territory and is later treated and supplied to 80% of the 1.77 million population.

Chan, a water resources professor, said such an authority could ensure that river reserves are kept free from development and that water catchment areas are kept untouched.

“The federal government will not be doing its duty if it just sits on the sidelines and does not do anything.

“After all, a transboundary river like the Sungai Muda is under the concurrent list whereby the federal government has the jurisdiction and mandate to be the moderator in negotiations between the Kedah and Penang.

“It is the duty and responsibility of the federal government to step in to negotiate and settle this transboundary inter-basin management issues,” he told FMT.

On Wednesday, several areas in Penang experienced water cuts after the main Sungai Dua water treatment plant in Butterworth was temporarily shut down due to its quality levels dropping below minimum standards set by the health ministry.

This followed the floods that hit several villages in Baling, Kedah, two days earlier.

Chan said flooding in Kedah’s interior, such as Baling, would inevitably affect Penang again in the future, as developments upstream in the Muda catchment will generate sediments and other contaminants that get washed into the Muda river and this will negatively affect Penang’s raw water intake at the downstream stretch.

Chan said the river empties into the Straits of Melaka after passing Seberang Perai.

He said the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) was forced to shut down the treatment plant or risk serious damage to the machinery and equipment by the turbid waters.

“The consequences would have been even more severe,” he said.

While filters can be installed, he said, they would be rendered useless if the sedimentation levels were high and caused clogging.

He said consumers must reduce water usage, start harvesting rainwater, tap into well water and store water in reserve tanks.

The worst case scenario was that Penangites would have to consider rationing.

“That is why desalination should be implemented soon,” he said.