DID Sabah: 50 years in the making
Published on: Sunday, December 17, 2017
THIS year the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Sabah celebrates its Golden Jubilee. The department is taking the effort to publish a series of articles to look back in history and track its contribution since its inception and the subsequent function in its present set-up. The articles that follow as an upcoming series is a joint effort of various members of the organisation.
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It is hoped that it will provide the public with an overall understanding on the roles of the Department in its share to the nation's development over the years and the DID's contribution to improving the living standard of the people in the state of Sabah.Water resource is basic life sustenance. "Water – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", "Water is Life", "Water Security", "The Treat of Water", etc are some cliché phrases societies of the world have tried to remind ourselves the importance or water. The burden of water resources management is an even more arduous journey ahead when DID reminiscences 50 years of contribution to society specifically in Sabah. Since the formation of the Department, DID has moved in tandem with the nation's development.
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On January 1, 1967, when its formation was mooted, its core function was focused in the provision of facilities in irrigation and drainage to overcome the nation's critical shortage of rice. However, through the rapid development in agriculture and other sectors, the DID's responsibility was further enhanced with additional functions such as Drainage & Flood Mitigation, River Engineering, Coastal Engineering and Hydrology.
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In 1998, the Public Works Department (PWD) was restructured, and the Urban Drainage function was transferred to DID. In 2005, DID was appointed as the Water Resources management and enforcement agency in Sabah. The DID's core business was redefined as the State's water resources manager; this is performed by managing water resource in an integrative manner. It includes the importance of water in agriculture and food production, the need to protect life and property from river and coastal threats, the management of water in enhancing the environment and as a State resource. Today, the DID Sabah as a result of its recent reorganisation following the new management, comprises six main functions:i. Irrigation and Agricultural Drainageii. Flood Mitigation and River Engineeringiii. Coastal Engineeringiv. Urban Drainagev. Hydrologyvi. Water ResourcesThere is little authentic information that documents the early history of paddy cultivation in Sabah, as such irrigation was unknown until the advent of the British Administration. Where it started by using the traditional 'Shaft, slash and burn method from the 18th century'. Due to the need to increase food production in the 1930s, and to ensure against frequent crop failures, some effective form of water control was deemed necessary. The main role of DID assistance in the irrigation sector is to enhance agricultural production by providing the crop cultivators with irrigation schemes and improving its reliability.Flood can be defined as any high water flow that dominates the natural or artificial banks in any part of the river system. Therefore, when a river bank is overtopped, the water extends over the floodplain and becomes a hazard to the society. When floods occurred, it has terrible impacts on people as it disrupts their day to day activities and the impacts can last for a week in the coming years, climate change is likely to make the situation even more challenging. Flooding is a natural event that can only be mitigated. The most devastating natural disaster experienced in the country is flood, one of the most prominent floods event is brought by Tropical Storm Greg in Keningau back in December 1996. It caused losses in the hundreds of millions and documented fatality count of 241. With this in mind, the flood mitigation section of the DID functions is to not only to mitigate flood by engineering means but also to enhance public awareness in terms of flooding and the devastation it brings. Flood mitigation in its name often encompasses works in major or large main drain construction as well as pumping systems. These management measures are usually seen in urban, often low-lying areas as well as coastal region. Apart from implementing flood management be it structural or non-structural measures, the DID has worked closely with other government organisation as well as NGO in terms of contributing flood relief machinery and organisation; flood forecasting and warning system for pre and post prevention and management of flood events. Since the early 90's, with the trend of rapid development and climate change. The DID has planned and embarked on works geared towards coastal engineering, hence, the formation of the Coastal section. Sabah has the longest coastline in Malaysia, which stretches 1,743km. This further escalates the concerns over increasing incidences of damage to public and private properties including agricultural and urban areas due to coastal erosion. The Coastal Section also implements river mouth improvement works and develops integrated shoreline management plans. This section also provides technical advice to other government agencies in vetting development projects within coastal zone to minimise any negative impacts that might arise as a result of their implementation. The river engineering section is also established since the early 90's following subsequent discussions by a special task force and the Directorate. The primary function of this section is to ensure good river management, conserve river water and quality, reduce the risk of floods, and timely response to complaints relating to rivers and initiate any necessary repair and maintenance works. This will be achieved through studying issues and problems relating to river reserve management and river administrative practices, and the formulation of appropriate guideline and strategies. The ultimate goal of the river engineering section is to restore rivers where possible to their natural state trough well-planned river restoration programmes. This section is also involved in processing applications for sand extraction and mining diversions, as well as the construction of jetties, bridges and crossings, and other works which have a direct impact on river conditions. This section has also embarked on river beautification project which has been implemented in Papar River and Sembulan River.The primary role of the hydrology section is to establish river flow characteristics and provide the data necessary for water resources studies to determine the safe yields in run-of-river schemes and flood flows for the design of hydraulic structures.DID also started providing technical services to departments specifically under its Ministry since 1984. Technical services like design of office complexes, government quarters, amenities for agriculture parks and etc. Recently DID has embarked on a journey to cement her role as an alternative technical department to PWD as enshrine in the government Treasury Instruction.This organisational expansion is in line with the role of the department as the reference centre for the nations water resources development and management to propel the state into an era of green initiatives thus ensuring clean water and allowing the optimising of land development for the betterment of Sabah future generation. The hands-on involvement of the DID in propagating the irrigation and drainage systems is a contribution to the Sabah's development which cannot be denied. DID will continue to expand its effort in raising awareness among stakeholders on the importance of conserving out water source through various programmes. This is carried out through the Sabah Environmental Education Network (Seen) an established multi-agencies platform on awareness.To reel it all in and to make the DID presence well known thus ensuring a community rebased planning ownership, the department has organised a series of activities to foster greater public awareness on the department. The activities this year included H2O Community run in February, Innovation Day in May, World Rivers Day Conference and Exhibition in September, which is the first of its kind in Malaysia featuring experts from various fields both locally and internationally.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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