Water crisis looms in Klang Valley

It is time we take seriously the warning by the Syabas COO that Putrajaya, Selangor and the Klang Valley will be the first to be hit by a water crisis, in the report, Water crisis looms in Klang Valley. It has been obvious since 2008 that the State Government was never serious in promoting frugal water usage; rather the politicians seem to favour encouraging water profligacy by offering the first 20 cubic metres water free of charge.

Short term and long term measures need to be considered and debated now, if we are to avoid a national water crisis in a few years' time, regrettably aided by the uncontrolled influx of foreign workers and migrants into our crowded country.

Short term and immediate measures include offering large incentives for households and businesses to harvest rainwater, by providing steep discounts on the purchase of large storage tanks and ancillary equipment like pumps, and piping, along with basic installation costs. Engineers in Syabas can also come up with basic designs for the implementation of rain harvesting systems in homes and business complexes. The State Authority should also clamp down on the mainly illegal car-wash business that are mushrooming in Selangor and KL. These car wash businesses really waste a lot of water, if one will just observe their mode of operations.

A long term measure that can be considered by the State in the conservation of our limited water resources may be to follow the example of the South Korean Government, which mandates all housing and business complexes to build large underground storage tanks to harvest rain water, and to have reliable systems installed in those complexes to use the 'grey' water for washing and cleaning purposes. These large water harvesting systems are also useful in alleviating flood conditions in times of heavy downpour. At the moment, the frequent heavy downpours in Selangor just mean horrific floods and millions of litres of water literally 'down the drain'

We need to be pro active, and not just always only talk about the problems

Water management: act now before it's too late!