Now that water shortages across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya have taxed residential homes and small businesses for months, authorities are proposing that golf courses and swimming pools should undergo water rationing too.
National Water Sercives commissioner Datuk Marimuthu Nadason is proposing that golf courses, swimming pools, and other industries that consume vast quantities of water to operate be charged extra for the water they use, or get water cuts.
“The situation is getting critical and we need something more concrete, such as imposing surcharges on swimming pool operators, which we are planning to do,” he said.
He said he was vouching for several measures intended to curb the wastage of treated water, as the probablity of another water rationing exercise increases.
According to The Malay Mail Online‘s Alexander Winifred, Marimuthu asked, “There are a lot of questions the Water Services Commission (SPAN) is asking. For example, there are many golf courses in Selangor. Are these golf courses using valuable treated water or water from rain?”
Yesterday, Klang MP Charles Santiago also called for a temporary ban on car wash businesses in Selangor, and for water usage to be prioritised for drinking, cooking and hygiene purposes.
Santiago said SPAN had the authority to intervene in the matter, and urged the federal agency to halt car wash outlets for the time being.
While SPAN has not come to an official decision on the matter, Marimuthu said he was personally pushing for such changes to take place as SPAN Commissioner.
He has also proposed the introduction of rainwater catchment systems in residential homes.
