Water situation getting critical
Published on: Wednesday, April 17, 2019
By: Sherell Jeffrey
KOTA KINABALU: The State Government should look into improving the water distribution system to address poor water supply, especially in Tawau, said Balung Assemblyman Datuk Osman Jamal.
He said based on information from the Water Department in Tawau, the supply of water is lower than the demand.
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“The situation is made worse when the rivers water level goes down,” he said while debating at the State Legislative Assembly here, Tuesday.
He, however, commended the efficient action taken by staff from the Water Department in helping to resolve the matter in Tawau.
He said based on data, Sabah will be faced with critical situation in 2020 when it comes to water supply if nothing is done to resolve the matter now.
For Tawau, he proposed that the water treatment plants in Singgahmata, Utara and Balung be upgraded to accommodate the needs of industry, retailers, residential areas and the rakyat.
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He said having a good water distribution system is the proper approach, because it is linked to non-revenue water.
In Tawau, he said non-revenue water reaches 60 per cent and to upgrade the water treatment plant in Singgahmata to produce higher than 90 million litres per day , would cost about RM160 million.
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“If non-revenue water is not resolved through good water distribution system, it means 60 per cent will go to non-revenue and only 40 per cent can be used.
“Thus I propose that we not only upgrade the water supply, but also re-study the water distribution system and identify the cause of non-revenue water,” he said.
He noted that a lot of non-revenue water happens at Mile 4 Tawau where the squatter settlement is located.
“I don’t blame them for tapping water. If we had provided them with proper houses and better amenities, I doubt they would want to tap water from the water treatment plant,” he said.
He hopes the ministry concerned can look into the matter as well as upgrade the three water treatment plants in Tawau.
He also talked about power supply and the need to study how to reduce the Saidi (System Average Interruption Duration Index) which currently stands at 225 minutes compared to Sarawak with 100 Saidi and peninsula with 60 Saidi.
He expressed shocked over the Federal Government’s decision to close down the geothermal project, which he describes as something that has potential and is also green technology.
He hopes the State Government will review and continue the geothermal project because of its potential in generating power for the State.
“The geothermal and minihydro project is within the State’s jurisdiction and the State Government has the power to approve this and obtain licence from the Federal Government,” he said.
On another matter, he said Sabah may someday become the largest gold mine in Malaysia.
He cited a Sabahan-owned gold mine in Balung on 60 acres containing four metric tonnes of gold.
He said the listed company is also a source of income for workers, of which 90 per cent are locals.
He however expressed disappointment over the false allegations hurled against the company, some of which claimed that the company had no licence and that it did not have the Environment Protection Department report.
“I did some research on the claims and found that the company is registered and they have an agreement with the Environment Protection Department.
“Many of the allegations are not true. The gold mine in Balung is the biggest in South Asia. In the peninsula, all the gold mines are owned by foreigners, they sold it to foreigners, but here it is owned by a Sabahan.
“But I am puzzled why many people insulted him on Facebook and say bad things about him.
“In my opinion, the gold mine is owned by a Sabahan who the State Government has granted land for a term of 30 years, instead of bashing the company, we should be proud and facilitate him,” he said.
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