THE Perak Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) is still implementing scheduled water rationing after the water level at the Bukit Merah Dam dropped to a critical level yesterday. 

Perak DID director Ahmad Shahrir Md Naziri, however, gave assurance that the domestic water supply for residents in Kerian would not be disrupted. 

“So far, we are still implementing water rationing, but the domestic supply for residents in Kerian is running as usual,” he told Bernama today. 

Yesterday, the Kerian district DID office issued a statement on social media informing the public that the water level at the Bukit Merah Dam had reached the Stage 2 critical level of 6.706m and they were hoping for rainfall to replenish the dam. 

Perak DID said there had been rainfall in the catchment area over the past 24 hours, contributing to the increase in the dam’s water level.  

As of this morning, it said the water level at Bukit Merah Dam has risen to 6.965m with a storage capacity of 18.70 million cubic metres, bringing it to Stage 1 critical level. 

“This means that despite the water rationing, the domestic supply of water has not been disrupted,” the statement read. 

Nevertheless, it said Perak DID also filed an application with the state government to carry out cloud seeding operations through the Kerian District Disaster Management Secretariat in a letter dated June 1. – Bernama, June 19, 2023.