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🇸🇬 Singapore /Environment & Climate

Critically low water reserves in haze-hit Sarawak due to prolonged dry spell

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A reservoir serving more than 3,200 consumers in Simunjan, Sarawak, has fallen to 0.7 metres after four months of little rain, down from its normal 6.5 metres.
  • Authorities are combining water rationing, tanker deliveries and supplies from nearby facilities to maintain service during the prolonged dry spell.
  • Simunjan is among four Sarawak treatment plants targeted for cloud seeding scheduled from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5.

The reservoir at Simunjan’s water treatment plant has fallen to 0.7 metres, leaving it critically low after four months with hardly any rain. Its normal level is 6.5 metres.

Shazwani Jamil, an assistant engineer with Sarawak’s Rural Water Supply Department, said the plant draws most of its water from nearby Gunung Ngeli. Rain since April has not been enough to replenish the reservoir, and conditions became more critical in mid-July. Since July 31, the reservoir has been nearly dry, she said.

Even when there was some rain, it was not enough to replenish the reservoir. Starting mid-July, the situation got more critical, and since July 31 the reservoir has been nearly dry.

— Shazwani JamilThe Sarawak Rural Water Supply Department assistant engineer described the reservoir’s decline after months of insufficient rainfall.

The plant can treat five million litres of water a day and supplies more than 3,200 domestic and commercial consumers in Simunjan town and nearby villages. Sarawak Water Sdn Bhd is providing 1.5 million litres a day to parts of Simunjan, while another 3.5 million litres comes from the Gedong booster pump station and the Slabi water treatment plant in Serian.

Thankfully, there have been fewer complaints about water disruption in Simunjan since we started rationing.

— Shazwani JamilShe described the effect of rationing in Kampung Sageng on supplies to Simunjan.

JBALB began rationing water in Kampung Sageng on Aug. 7. Supply is cut from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., allowing water from Serian to flow directly to the Simunjan treatment plant. Shazwani said complaints about disruptions in Simunjan had fallen since rationing began, although more distant villages still faced low water pressure. JBALB sends five to 10 lorries carrying 5,400 litres each to homes and villages daily or when requested by community leaders. The water comes from neighbouring Asajaya district.

Simunjan is one of four treatment plants selected for a cloud-seeding exercise by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee. The operation, scheduled for Sept. 3 to Sept. 5, also aims to raise water levels in the state’s hydroelectric dams. Shazwani said the current dry spell was the longest she had seen since joining the plant in 2018.

Usually the dry weather lasts a month at most every year. But this time the dry spell has gone on for longer than usual. In all my time here I have never seen the reservoir

— Shazwani JamilShe compared the current conditions with previous dry spells during her work at the plant since 2018.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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