Water restructuring deal : Will Selangor water crisis come to an end?

Selangor’s water crisis is far from over and the Selangor water restructuring deal doesn’t put an end to the lingering crisis.

Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer) president S.Piarapakaran said this was because the Langat 2 water treatment plant and its distribution system (LRAL2) project is only expected to be completed in 2019.

"The construction of S.Piarapakaran plant is already delayed and is expected to be completed in 2019. This means the inadequacy of water supply and increasing demand of water will continue to raise concerns until the project is completed," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

The deal only involved measures to restructure the companies that were previously concession holders, now taken over by the state-owned company, Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd.

However, negotiations with Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH) are still ongoing and have not been finalized.

"Actually, the restructuring deal is still in progress and has not been finalized yet. So it is still too early to make conclude that the Selangor water crisis is over," he said.

Also, in the deal the government will focus on minimizing non-revenue water (NRW) through the construction of new infrastructure.

He added that all of this must be investigated and the approval must be given by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) before the projects are implemented because of all this are time-consuming processes.

He said, therefore, the risk of recurring water crisis in Selangor is still possible in 5 years, if mitigation efforts are not taken immediately.

Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) hopes that water rationing does not persists after the Selangor water restructuring deal is signed.

Its secretary-general, Datuk Paul Selvaraj hoped that the deal will ensure a steady flow of water supply for consumers.

"I think it is unfair if consumers are still facing problems of water rationing. We hope that through this agreement any obstacles or things that will slow down the process could be solved."

"In this issue we hope that both the state and federal government will prioritize the welfare of consumers." he added.

He also said that with the growing population in Klang Valley, it is necessary to have a long term plan to ensure adequate water supply in the state.