SHAH ALAM, July 28 — All agencies involved in water management in Selangor are now united through the Water Resources Assurance Scheme (WARAS) initiative to overcome flooding, notably in the Klang Valley.

State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Izham Hashim said WARAS will also be participated by the Kuala Lumpur Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) to ensure that the flood issue could be dealt with holistically.

Izham said the main flood issue identified by WARAS as a result of the meeting last May was how to drain floodwater from Kuala Lumpur and high places directly to the sea or reservoirs and to deepen the depth of the Klang River, especially in shallow areas.

“WARAS will also work with the federal government, which is why recently in the WARAS meeting, we expanded its scope to include all water-related issues and agencies such as floods, droughts and pollution under one roof.

“Through WARAS, all proposals will be viewed for solutions especially when there is a major flood. The runoff, for example, from the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) was diverted to Selangor, but that is not over yet. So, we do release the excess water? We have to make sure that the water reaches the sea or the reservoir,” he said at the Selangor state assembly Annex Building today.

WARAS was previously an initiative of the state government to deal with water supply disruption when raw water sources become polluted in Sungai Selangor and Sungai Langat.

It has now been widened to coordinate other state authorities like Syarikat Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Selangor Air), Selangor Water Management Board (LUAS), state Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and the federal government, represented by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS).

Izham said the state government will implement the Klang River dredging project within two months to deepen the river to receive overflow during the rainy season, especially at year-end, which will be implemented by Syarikat Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd.

He said the implementation of the project will be combined with WARAS’ planning which has identified 21 ponds and lakes to be used as river overflow buffers to store floodwater.

“The water overflow project in Sungai Damansara will also be implemented through a RM500-million Central Government project that has been approved for an underground connection system up to Sri Muda and directly to the Tasik Ladam pond near Sungai Rasau, Klang,” he said. — Bernama