The crippling water crisis afflicting Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has driven the Selangor state government to attempt to pump water from old tin mines into Sungai Selangor, to bolster its water flow into local dams on dry days.
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said his administration is allocating some RM10 million for the project.
“The allocation is to buy high-powered pumps to increase the river levels,” The Star Online reports Khalid as saying.
According to Khalid, the water level at the Sungai Selangor dam was still at critical, despite the recent rains As of 8am yesterday, the dam stood at 38.97% capacity, or 89.63 million litres.
The Sungai Selangor dam is the state’s largest supplier of raw water, catering to the needs of 60% of Selangor’s consumers.
Khalid also said he believed diverting water from the nine ponds around the Sungai Selangor dam into the reservoir would put an end to the current crisis.
In response to a question on whether or not the water from the ponds, mostly remnants of old tin mines, was safe, Khalid said the warter had been tested and has been cleared for treatment.
The pond pumping exercise involves the Environment Department, the Drainage and Irrigation Department, the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas), and other agencies.
He said when river levels return to normal, the same pumps would be used to pump water from the river into earmarked retention ponds in preparation for the long dry spell anticipated from May to September.
