From the end of May, Malaysia has actually entered a phase of the South-West Monsoon, where the weather is relatively dry and thus we are experiencing fewer rainy days. Recently, there have been a lot of unscheduled water disruptions in Hulu Langat District and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, which include the Kajang and Balakong areas.

An estimated 402,333 houses were affected by the disruption due to damage to water pumps at the Sungai Langat Water Treatment Plant which could produce 460 million litres per day (MLD) to the consumers.

However, media reports show that the unscheduled water disruption in Hulu Langat District occurred one week afterwards, following the decrease in water levels at several water resources in Hulu Langat.

Residents need to spend their time waiting for water tankers, which I believe are insufficient to cover the whole affected areas, and it is very heartbreaking when you see elderly people needing to carry heavy filled water pails to their house at higher level floors using the staircases.

Water should be an easy-access basic need for everyone, but it has now become an annual event or ‘annual nightmare’ for those staying in that area. In the middle of hot and dry weather, water demand will definitely increase compared to normal day as we need water to prevent dehydration from happening.

The water restructuring deal between the Selangor state and federal governments is being delayed and this is the sixth time they have postponed the deal until further notice, which means the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant Project is on hold and most probably would not be completed by 2017 as scheduled.

On the other hand, when fingers are pointed to Selangor water operator, Syabas, to solve this issue or to upgrade the current system, they would claim that they are not getting approval from the relevant authorities until the restructuring takes place. Thus, does this mean we have to await our doom?

How long would it take to solve the low water reserve margin in Selangor, Putrajaya and KL? The water operator, and the state and federal governments should come up with a distribution strategic to solve the current water supply issue for those residents in affected areas immediately, as the people are suffering.

Meanwhile, according to the New Straits Times , two dams in Johor - the Sungai Layang Upper and Lower Dams - which supply water to the Pasir Gudang industrial area, have reached critical levels and it could affect more than 600,000 consumers if the dry spell persists. This is an alarm bell for residents in Johor to reduce their daily water consumption and store adequate water in covered containers to prevent the breeding of Aedes mosquitos.

Encouraged to reuse water

Consumers are encouraged to reuse water (greywater) from your washing machine, after bathing and after washing vegetables to flush your toilet and water your plants as statistic shows that 45 percent of water is used for flushing the toilet and bathing. In addition, reducing the frequency of washing your car will definitely reduce the water consumption and this should be practiced and enforced by the government during the dry season.

Last but not least, information on the current water status in the state should be announced by the relevant authorities from time by time so that the rakyat could prepare themselves and start to save water and reduce water consumption to avoid water disruption due to high water demand.

The updated information about dam levels, rainfall pattern and river level should be easily accessible to the public at related official websites such as the state government, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (NRE) website, etc.

JESSLYN PEK YEN LEE is communication and policy manager, Forum Air Malaysia.