Penalty likely for Penangites who waste water
Penalty likely for Penangites who waste water
Monday February 22, 2010
(Source: The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Penangites who waste water may have to pay a “severe” penalty from June in a move by the state government to conserve water.However, those who save water may be given discounts.Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was seriously considering the proposal by PBA Holdings Bhd.“We want to look at reducing domestic water usage by at least 10%,” he said here yesterday.Lim said the proposal would be made public next month with implementation scheduled in June.“The proposal will be presented to the PBA board and will go through the state executive council before finalisation,” he said.It was proposed that “severe” penalty be imposed on consumers who exceeded the United Nation’s recommended daily consumption of 165 litres per person.“The penalty will only be imposed on the amount of water exceeding the 165 litres per person per day,” he said. Penangites use an average of 286 litres of water per person daily.He added that the penalty amount to be imposed would be worked out by PBA. Its chief executive officer Jaseni Maidinsa said the company proposed the “water conservation fee” to the state government in a move to curb water wastage.Jaseni said the penalty was being mulled over because Penangites consumed more water than people from other states as the water rate, at 31 sen per cubic metre, is the lowest in the country.“In Singapore, the water tariff is seven times our tariff and Singa-poreans consume only 157 litres per person per day.“Malaysians still have a long way to go before they get into the habit of saving water,” he said.Jaseni also said PBA had launched a long-term campaign to educate the public on the need to save water since its corporatisation in 1999.“We’re working with Penang Water Watch on a 30-year plan to teach primary schoolchildren how to save water and hope that when these children reach their 40s, the state’s water consumption would have reached the desired UN level.“We can’t do much about educating adults on reducing daily water consumption and these pupils are our only hope.Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris lauded the proposal, describing it as “very timely”. The Star, Monday February 22, 2010
Span urged to initiate emergency drill on shortage
PETALING JAYA: The National Water Services Commission (Span) should initiate an “emergency drill” for consumers to cope with water shortage, the Water and Energy Consumers Association of Malaysia (Wecam) suggested.Its secretary-general, S. Piarapakaran, said Span, being the main regulator of the water services industry in the country, had the responsibility to ensure that consumers were not “left high and dry” during a drought.He said the drill would streamline information dissemination by water operators and increase the general preparedness of consumers to face and cope with any shortage in times of drought.Piarapakaran was commenting on the current dry spell that have left water levels in Johor and Sabah dams below the normal levels which could turn critical if there was no rainfall.He said Span, with the cooperation of the water operators, should draw up a long-term emergency response plan to meet such contingencies.Among other things, he said, the plan should protect all water catchment areas, not allow water treatment plants to run on full capacity, reduce water wastage though leaking pipes and pilfering, install water-saving gadgets and encourage high water consuming industries and household consumers to recycle water.He suggested that Span play a more “aggressive role” to provide uninterrupted water supply to consumers. — Bernama
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