WHAT is the reason behind shortages of water supply? What is the solution by the state government?
Let’s cut to the chase and keep it as simple as possible.
1. The reasons
The first main reason: the old pipes need to be replaced.
And the length is 4,006 km. This is simply… staggering!
And the consequence of this, 52 percents of the water did not reach the consumer. We call this ‘non-revenue water’(NRW).
The second main reason: the ‘loji rawatan air(LRA)’, the water treatment plant, could not produce the capacity needed.
They need to produce 512 million litres per day. But instead we only got 458 million litres per day.
2. The solutions
The first solution: The old pipes will be replaced.
But in reality, it is far more difficult to be done.
The state government may only replace up to the limit allowed by Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) during a set period of time.
For the duration from 2021-2023, the state government may only replace up to 343 km of pipe.
Only 343 km out of 4,006 km! That is still a long way to go.
The second solution: 5 mini LRA will be built to mitigate the shortages in capacity of water produced.
This is fully funded by the state government. And the cost is RM30 million.
The percentage of progression of completion(as of January 2022) of these 5 LRA are:
a) Telok Mesira: 78%
b) Ketereh: 99%
c) Wakaf Bharu: 89%
d) Kg. Perol: 42%
e) Jelawat: 22%
Apart from these, a further 3 more LRA will be built in Kedai Buloh, Meranti, and Telong.
All 3 of these will also be fully funded by the state government. And the cost is RM19 million.
3. Further solutions
PAAB has allocated around RM471 million for the construction of 10 new LRA in Kelantan.
These 10 new LRA are expected to produce 150 million litres of water supply per day.
They are expected to be completed in stages between 2024-2026.
4. Conclusion
The problem of water supply is indeed a serious issue. Hence we can see the seriousness of the state government in solving this issue by allocating RM49 million from the state fund.
However, we need to accept the fact that this problem-fixing process will take some time as has been explained above.
The state government is trying its very best up to its maximum ability.
MUHAMMAD NABIL ZULKIFLI
Darulnaim Research Centre – HARAKAHDAILY 11/4/2022
