Kedah treated water reserves to reach 15pc by 2026, says state exco member

ALOR SETAR, March 7 — The Kedah state government expects the treated water reserve in the state to reach 15 per cent or more when five water treatment plant (LRA) upgrading projects are fully completed by 2026.

State Works, Natural Resources, Water Supply, and Environmental Resources Committee chairman Mohamad Yusoff Zakaria said that the current treated water reserve level which was at zero per cent, could pose a challenge for Kedah to meet demand in the event of any disruption.

The five respective plants are LRA Pelubang in Kubang Pasu, LRA Lubuk Buntar Lama (Bandar Baharu), LRA Sungai Limau (Baling), LRA Jenun Baru (Pendang) and LRA Bukit Selambau (Kuala Muda).

“It is acknowledged that the treated water reserve in Kedah is at zero per cent, there is no clean water reserve, but we have plenty of water sources. This water reserve issue has been longstanding, and that is why the late menteri besar of Kedah, Tan Sri Azizan Abdul Razak, directed a study to be conducted,” he said.

He said this in response to a supplementary question by Rashidi Razak (PN-Anak Bukit), who wanted to know the efforts made by the state government to increase the treated water reserve in Kedah, during the State Assembly sitting here today.

In January, Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Public Utilities Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir stated that Kedah had no reserves of treated water as its reserve margin was found to be zero due to water pressure issues and infrastructure deficiencies.

Meanwhile, when responding to a supplementary question from Dr Mohd Suffian Yusoff (PN-Bandar Baharu) regarding the measures taken by the state government to address non-revenue water (NRW) rates, Mohamad Yusoff stated that the NRW mitigation project, spanning 15 years, began in January 2023 and was expected to conclude on December 31, 2037.

“(Tackling) NRW is a major project and it is one of the factors affecting the water reserve because Kedah’s NRW is high. In 2023, Kedah’s NRW was at 57 per cent, including Langkawi, which is a high figure.

“This is not a one-year project, but will take 15 years, and we aim for a two per cent reduction every year during that period and hopefully this effort will be achieved to allow our water reserves to increase and the state’s NRW to be lowered,” he said.

Previously, the chairman of Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB), Datuk Seri Jaseni Maidinsa, said that PAAB would help four states, including Kedah, which had the highest rate of NRW as well as a very low margin of treated water reserves. — Bernama