It’s the time of the year when rainfall is generous but, according to reports, the water level at the Sungai Selangor dam is still low.
Puzzling, especially since Selangor has been seeing heavy rain recently. Bernama reports that several NGOs too have been wondering why the water level at the dam had risen only two per cent to 34.7 since last month.
Water supply at the dam is now just above the critical level. This, when the Malaysian Meteorological Department statistics showed an average rainfall of more than 200mm – normal for this time of the year – until yesterday.
Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (AWER) president S. Piarapakaran told Bernama: “Reviewing the function of the Sungai Selangor dam is something that can be done; in fact it should be done periodically for a major dam such as this. The rainfall pattern around the catchment area as well as the change in land use around the catchment area are some of the parameters that should be studied.”
He added any change in the usage of land could severely affect a dam’s ability to hold water.
“”When it rains, the dam fills up slowly but when there is no rainfall for a few days, the water from the dam has to be released. That is why the dam level is not increasing quickly at the moment,” he was quoted as saying.
Bernama also spoke to Water Association of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (SWAn) president Aldric Loong Kim Yew who wondered if Malaysians have actually damaged nature.
“…we have been cutting down a lot of trees and levelling hills. The government should start doing research on the pattern of the rain and even the topography of the catchment area to see the possibilities to resolve this problem,” he told Bernama.
Average rainfall is expected to reach between 300 mm and 350 mm early next month, according to the Meteorological Department.
The Sungai Selangor dam supplies water to 60 per cent of households in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya.
