Hazr and heat aside, the El Nino phenomenon this time is threatening our water supply.
The water level at the Bukit Merah dam has reached an alarming point — so bad that it’s been called the ‘worst in history’.
The New Straits Times reports that if the current hot and dry weather persists, there could be just 23 days left before it reaches the water level at the 3,000-hectare man-made lake reaches a critical stage.
“The water level at the lake has reached 5.97m today (Monday), which is very alarming. This is the worst in history,” state Public Utilities, Infrastructure, Energy and Water Committee chairman Datuk Zainol Fadzi Paharudin was quoted as saying.
Up to 250,000 people in the Kerian district will face water rationing should the situation worsen.
Cloud seeding operations to fill up the have reportedly failed in the area due to the lack of suitable clouds, the NST reports.
Authorities have also halted release of water for agricultural purposes, focusing on domestic use for now.
“At present, the reservoir is supplying 120 million litres of water daily to two treatment plants in Gunung Semanggol, which is lower than the previous 150 million litres daily before,” he was quoted further.
