KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Nearly 70 per cent more households in the Klang Valley will now come under the ongoing water rationing in Selangor, after state water utility Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) today expanded the exercise to include previously unaffected areas.

The expansion covers parts of the six districts that are undergoing the alternating supply schedule — Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Gombak, Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor — that had previously escaped the ration.

“The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) approved on March 6 the escalation of the water rationing plan from the Stage Two to Stage Three, which will include some additional areas in the district of Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling, Klang / Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor due to the reduction of treated water,” Syabas said in a statement today.

Stage three of the water ration will take effect on March 10 and is scheduled to go on until the end of the month if the weather condition does not improve.

The alternating schedule of two days of supply and two days without remain unchanged, as are the zone designations previously announced.

Consumers must rely entirely on stored water during days without supply.

The expansion now raises the number of households affected from the previous 431,617 to 722,424.

Syabas announced the first stage of the scheduled water distribution plans for three districts in Selangor: Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang, in February.

The water rationing for the 60,185 households in the three districts was implemented after the closure of water treatment plants Cheras Batu 11 and Bukit Tampoi.

It then expanded the ration to the six additional districts on February 28, before escalating it again yesterday.

The two plants were shut down by Syabas on January 28 after the hot spell caused ammonia levels in raw water sources to rise.

Water levels at two key dams at Klang Gates and Langat also continue to deplete despite recent bouts of rain.