THE government will despatch water tankers to Kedah if the dry and hot spell persists, said Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

“There are several areas that have water-treatment issues, particularly in the north like Kedah and the agencies have already gone there.

“We have started digging in two areas to locate groundwater,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

This follows news on Monday that Kedah was hit with a Level 2 heatwave as temperatures reached 37° to 40° Celsius in the Pendang district.

The government will despatch water tankers to the areas if the situation doesn’t improve over the next few days.

“I have also asked the Water Department to assess the situation and advise us on the priority areas.”

The woes are compounded by a lack of rainfall and absence of proper water-treatment plants.

“We have to look for alternative water sources. I know that we have a lot of groundwater but we want to study it further.

“We can see the haze now and if the El Niño effect continues till mid-April, we will issue advisories on water conservation,” Xavier said. – March 20, 2019.