He said this agency should be given higher funds to prevent further incidents such as a barrage glitch that caused water cuts in southern Kedah and most of Penang on May 13-14.

Santiago said the water shortages could have cost the economy at least half a billion ringgit in lost productivity.

Santiago said the river basin must be treated as a strategic and security zone with constant monitoring and sufficient staff deployed to care for the place, while preserving the delicate ecology and ecosystem along the river’s course.

“To make this work, big allocations are needed,” he told FMT.

Why the river level dropped

Santiago said an automated system glitch left a barrage gate open for 11 hours, causing river water to empty into the sea.

The river level fell dramatically to below the level of the intakes of several water treatment plants in southern Kedah and Penang which were unable to draw raw water for treatment.

Some 800,000 accounts in Penang and Kedah were affected, 600,000 of which were in Penang, said Santiago, who was in Kedah and Penang with SPAN officials to assess the recent barrage problem.

The barrage is managed by the drainage and irrigation department.

Santiago said the fault was on one of six gates on the Kedah side that was supposed to be lowered automatically to keep water levels high enough to be drawn into the treatment plants where it would be turned into potable water.

The Kedah-side barrage has 14 gates, but only six worked, he said, while the barrage on the Penang side has been in disuse for many years.

The Muda river forms the boundary between Kedah and Penang, with both states drawing river water for treatment. The river supplies Penang with 80% of its water supply.

Santiago said the Kedah side of the barrage was built in the early 2000s. The Penang one was at least 50 years old and lower in height and was non-functioning, having virtually no impact on the river levels.

“The Kedah barrage glitch could have been avoided if there was a maintenance culture and monitoring system, including a working alert system. This shows the limits of automated systems,” he said.

He said the drainage and irrigation department was allocated RM8 million earlier this year for repairs and upgrades to the faulty gates. Tenders were in the process of being issued.

Santiago said the full findings of the barrage problem would be revealed by the minister for natural resources, environment and climate change on Monday.