Penang Water Supply Corporation’s (PBAPP) CEO, K Pathmanathan, said the capacity at Air Itam dam now stood at 49.5%, and the Teluk Bahang dam at 50.7%.

“The effective capacities of these two dams have been projected to drop further towards critical levels, if the current dry season extends to August,” he said in a statement today.

Pathmanathan said the state secretary’s office had asked the meteorological department about companies qualified to carry out cloud seeding, but was informed that no company met the criteria set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

“As such, the state government has no choice but to seek the assistance of Nadma to intervene and facilitate the implementation of cloud seeding operations as soon as possible,” he said.

On Tuesday, Pathmanathan advised people in Penang to use water sparingly as the total water level at the two dams had dropped by almost half because of low rainfall and high domestic demand.

The average daily consumption in the state was 875 million litres a day (MLD) in January and 944 MLD in February. This led to the Air Itam dam’s capacity dropping from 82.5% on Jan 1 to 51.8% on April 10, while the Teluk Bahang dam’s water level dropped from 64% to 51.3%.