Critically low water reserves in haze-hit Sarawak due to prolonged dry spell
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Sarawak’s Simunjan reservoir, where the water level has dropped to less than a metre after four months with hardly any rain.
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
- Sarawak faces critically low water reserves in Simunjan due to a prolonged dry spell, with the reservoir level dropping from 6.5m to 0.7m since April.
- Water rationing and deliveries by lorries are in place to manage supply, while alternative sources from Gedong and Serian support Simunjan.
- Cloud seeding is planned to replenish water reserves, with long-term upgrades like pipeline expansion and a new elevated tank underway to improve supply.
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SIMUNJAN, Sarawak – Even as Sarawak battles extreme haze conditions, the prolonged dry spell has led to critically low water reserves in parts of the state.
At the water treatment plant in Simunjan, the reservoir’s level has dropped to less than a metre after four months with hardly any rain.
Sarawak Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) assistant engineer Shazwani Jamil said the plant’s water source comes mainly from nearby Gunung Ngeli, but a lack of rain since April had caused the reservoir to slowly dry up. “Even when there was some rain, it was not enough to replenish the reservoir. Starting mid-July, the situation got more critical, and since July 31 the reservoir has been nearly dry,” she said on Sept 1.
Shazwani, the officer in charge of the Simunjan plant, said the reservoir’s normal level was 6.5m but it is currently at 0.7m, which is considered critical.
The plant, which has a capacity of 5 million litres of water a day (MLD), supplies over 3,200 domestic and commercial consumers in Simunjan town and the surrounding villages.
To address the situation, Shazwani said Sarawak Water Sdn Bhd was supplying 1.5 MLD to parts of Simunjan, while another 3.5 MLD was supplied from the Gedong booster pump station and Slabi water treatment plant in Serian.
On Aug 7, JBALB began water rationing in Kampung Sageng to increase supply to the Simunjan treatment plant.
“The water from Serian goes first to Kampung Sageng, so the village is not experiencing disruption during the dry spell. We decided to turn off supply to Kampung Sageng from 10am to 2pm and 10pm to 4am daily. During these periods, the water from Serian will go directly to the treatment plant so that we can supply the rest of Simunjan. Thankfully, there have been fewer complaints about water disruption in Simunjan since we started rationing,” Shazwani said.
“We decided to turn off supply to Kampung Sageng from 10am to 2pm and 10pm to 4am daily. During these periods, the water from Serian will go directly to the treatment plant so that we can supply the rest of Simunjan. Thankfully, there have been fewer complaints about water disruption in Simunjan since we started rationing,” Shazwani said.
However, she said villages farther away still had no supply because of low water pressure.
For these villages, she said JBALB was delivering water via lorries or tankers daily or upon the request of local community leaders and headmen.
“Each lorry carries 5,400 litres of water. We have five to 10 lorries delivering water every day to homes and villages that need it,” she said, adding that the water comes from the neighbouring Asajaya district.
Simunjan is one of four water treatment plants identified as the primary targets for a cloud-seeding exercise by the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to replenish their reserves. The others are in Lingga, Spaoh and Lichok. Deputy premier Douglas Uggah, who is also SDMC chairman, had said the cloud seeding scheduled from Sept 3 to Sept 5 also aimed to increase reservoir levels at the state’s hydroelectric dams.
Shazwani said this was the longest dry spell in Simunjan since she began working at the plant in 2018.
“Usually the dry weather lasts a month at most every year. But this time the dry spell has gone on for longer than usual.
“In all my time here I have never seen the reservoir dry up like this,” she said.
She added that JBALB’s long-term initiatives to address water woes in Simunjan included upgrading the pipeline from 300mm to 355mm and constructing an elevated water tank in Kampung Hijrah.
“This will improve the water supply in the area,” she said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
