by Maria Begum,
Malaysia Chronicle, 28 October 2011
The Selangor state government is worried about the level of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and the failure of water concessionaire SYABAS to resolve the problem, despite years of trying but to no avail.
Elizabeth Wong, the executive councilor for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment, slammed SYABAS for failing in its duty to manage the water piping system, through which most of the leakage occurred.
According to Elizabeth, who is also the Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman, SYABAS had a duty to fix the problem swiftly and well under the terms of the privatization agreement inked with the state government.
“If SYABAS cannot afford to reduce NRW to a more acceptable level, it will create a direct impact on the supply of clean water to consumers,” Elizabeth said in a statement.
NRW to exceed 40% due to SYABAS' failure to resolve piping problems
She warned that a report by National Water Services Commission had stated that SYABAS was still struggling to bring the NRW below the 30% target.
The National Water Services Commission now predicts that NRW will shoot beyond 40% until 2020, an alarming trend given the already tight water supply situation in the state.
Although the NRW level in Selangor has been reduced to 32.8% in 2009 compared to 38.43% in 2005, the rate increased again in 2010 and 2011.
Elizabeth added that without enough clean water supply, it is possible that the much-feared water crisis in the Klang Valley will take place as predicted by the federal government although the seven dams in Selangor actually have enough capacity to accommodate all consumers in the state.
Stop trying to force Sungai Langat on us
She took to task Puncak Niaga, a sister firm of SYABAS which is controlled by Selangor Umno's Rozali Ismail, for failing to maintain and keep in good condition two water treatment plants.
“A report by Ranhill found two water treatment plants – Kalumpang and Sungai Sireh – require a big rehabilitation whereas 18 other water plants require smaller scale of rehabilitation,” said Elizabeth.
Thus, she added, it was not a surprise that the plants were functioning below capacity although they could produce enough clean water if they were managed well.
She accused the federal government of taking advantage of these issues to play up the need to build a new water treatment plant in Sungai Langat for its own purposes.
Pundits had said this was a blatant abuse of power and reeked of possible corruption as the firm that would get the contract was alleged to have links with Umno.
If we manage, we can reduce NRW to 10%
Elizabeth accused the federal government of delaying tactics in order to pressure the state government into a deal to benefit an Umno crony. The sooner the federal government allowed Selangor to manage its own water assets, the quicker it could resolve the problems, she said.
“If the state government takes over the management of water, we are convinced that NRW issue will be reduced to around 10% and there will be no problem in supplying water that already saw an increase in demand by up to 10% every year,” said the Bukit Lanjan state assemblyperson.
She pointed to the recent water shortage at an area near to the Subang Airport caused by broken pipes as an example of the mishandling and inability of SYABAS to fix problems swiftly.
While the residents suffered inconvenience and shortage of water, the leakage had caused great wastage of good clean water - exacerbating the NRW problem.
“The company has failed to use green technology like water treatment in containers which is far easier to do, cheap and fast compared to building said Elizabeth.
Malaysia Chronicle, 28 October 2011
The Selangor state government is worried about the level of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and the failure of water concessionaire SYABAS to resolve the problem, despite years of trying but to no avail.
Elizabeth Wong, the executive councilor for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment, slammed SYABAS for failing in its duty to manage the water piping system, through which most of the leakage occurred.
According to Elizabeth, who is also the Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman, SYABAS had a duty to fix the problem swiftly and well under the terms of the privatization agreement inked with the state government.
“If SYABAS cannot afford to reduce NRW to a more acceptable level, it will create a direct impact on the supply of clean water to consumers,” Elizabeth said in a statement.
NRW to exceed 40% due to SYABAS' failure to resolve piping problems
She warned that a report by National Water Services Commission had stated that SYABAS was still struggling to bring the NRW below the 30% target.
The National Water Services Commission now predicts that NRW will shoot beyond 40% until 2020, an alarming trend given the already tight water supply situation in the state.
Although the NRW level in Selangor has been reduced to 32.8% in 2009 compared to 38.43% in 2005, the rate increased again in 2010 and 2011.
Elizabeth added that without enough clean water supply, it is possible that the much-feared water crisis in the Klang Valley will take place as predicted by the federal government although the seven dams in Selangor actually have enough capacity to accommodate all consumers in the state.
Stop trying to force Sungai Langat on us
She took to task Puncak Niaga, a sister firm of SYABAS which is controlled by Selangor Umno's Rozali Ismail, for failing to maintain and keep in good condition two water treatment plants.
“A report by Ranhill found two water treatment plants – Kalumpang and Sungai Sireh – require a big rehabilitation whereas 18 other water plants require smaller scale of rehabilitation,” said Elizabeth.
Thus, she added, it was not a surprise that the plants were functioning below capacity although they could produce enough clean water if they were managed well.
She accused the federal government of taking advantage of these issues to play up the need to build a new water treatment plant in Sungai Langat for its own purposes.
Pundits had said this was a blatant abuse of power and reeked of possible corruption as the firm that would get the contract was alleged to have links with Umno.
If we manage, we can reduce NRW to 10%
Elizabeth accused the federal government of delaying tactics in order to pressure the state government into a deal to benefit an Umno crony. The sooner the federal government allowed Selangor to manage its own water assets, the quicker it could resolve the problems, she said.
“If the state government takes over the management of water, we are convinced that NRW issue will be reduced to around 10% and there will be no problem in supplying water that already saw an increase in demand by up to 10% every year,” said the Bukit Lanjan state assemblyperson.
She pointed to the recent water shortage at an area near to the Subang Airport caused by broken pipes as an example of the mishandling and inability of SYABAS to fix problems swiftly.
While the residents suffered inconvenience and shortage of water, the leakage had caused great wastage of good clean water - exacerbating the NRW problem.
“The company has failed to use green technology like water treatment in containers which is far easier to do, cheap and fast compared to building said Elizabeth.
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