EXCEPT for a few areas in some states, the country is not yet in rationing mode, said the country’s water regulator.

But this could change if the southwest monsoon rains do not come by the end of April or if they bring less rainfall when they do come, said the Water Services Commission (SPAN) chairman Charles Santiago.

Santiago said reduced rainfall, which is predicted because of the El Nino phenomenon, means that dams will not be replenished.

The Water, Environment and Natural Resources Ministry warned that water levels in several dams in Johor and Kedah are nearing the 50% mark while one dam in Kelantan has fallen below 40%.

Malaysia experiences two monsoon seasons, the southwest monsoon from April to September and the northeast monsoon from October to March. Both bring rain, although the northeast monsoon season is wetter. 

This year, the ministry predicts that there will be 25% less rain fall and that the inter-monsoon dry spell is expected to continue until May.

Santiago said Malaysians have to conserve water and use it efficiently so as to stave off a crisis if the rains are delayed.

The public misconception that they can waste water because the country is prone to heavy rains and floods has led to a shortage in raw water, he said.

“If it rains in your neighbourhood, save the rainwater. Don’t think you can waste water just because it rains.

“Just because it rains on your house does not mean that it has rained in the water catchment areas,” he said, referring to the forests, valleys, rivers and dams that are the country’s raw water sources.

Uneven rainfall in the past few days has seen storms occurring in towns and cities but not in water catchment area, so the supply of raw water is not replenished despite Malaysians see that it “rains everyday”.

Some of these catchment areas such as the Ulu Muda forest in Kedah, which supplies raw water to Perlis, Kedah and Penang, have been damaged after being logged, said Santiago.

In Merbok, Kedah, old water treatment plants combined with the dry season have led to severe water shortage and rationing for about 10,200 users.

This year is the worst

In Kota Tinggi, Johor, almost dried up dams have caused water supply disruption for about 15,000 users in half a dozen Felda schemes and villages.

Felda Simpang Waha is one of the first areas in the country to experience water rationing on March 16 due to declining supply of raw water at the Lok Heng dam.

Mohd Harris Yahya of Felda Simpang Waha said she and her neighbours have not had running water for more than a week.

Roughly 500 families at the settlement have had to wait for water trucks from the state utility to deliver treated water to their homes.

Residents put out pails, basins and tanks in front of their houses for water trucks from Ranhill Syarikat Air Johor to fill once every two days since March 16.

“Most of the houses here are occupied by elderly people with no children to help. Some come out limping while carrying the pails to their house. I do my best to help but I can’t be around all the time,” said Harris.

Another resident, Ayu Norhaizan Idrus, said the settlement experiences water shortage every year during the dry months between March and May, but this year is the worst.

“The previous years we won’t have water during the day but we would have it at night. This time, the water supply has been turned off all day,” said the 30-year-old shopkeeper.

In nearby Felda Lok Heng Timur, resident Samad Hassan said it has stopped raining in the area since mid-January.

“I’ve seen the dam that supplies water to our area. It’s too small so it dries up easily. The authorities need to build a bigger dam or this problem will keep repeating itself every year.” – March 25, 2019.