Penang must brace itself to face another possible drought season in 2014, in view of the possibility of an El Niño phenomenon that may last between 6 and 18 months from the middle of this year.
El Niño refers to the occurrence of warm ocean temperatures in the South Pacific that can create extreme droughts and floods all over the world, including in Penang and Malaysia.
Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) has received a letter from the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), dated 14 May 2014, stating that the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) had forecasted the possibility of this threat. However, the WMO is still unable to assess its potential global impact.
In the letter by the Secretary-General of KeTTHA Datuk Loo Took Gee pointed out that the hot and dry season last January and February had affected water supply in Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Water Rationing had imposed unnecessary hardship to the people and businesses. If El Niño occurs as predicted, the scenario could be worse.
As such, KeTTHA has requested for all state governments that are responsible for raw water management to audit effective water storage capacities and make preparations to ensure water sufficiency, should El Niño occur as predicted. Measures have to be taken to prevent water crises that are more damaging than the crises that had occurred this year.
Penang is fortunate that we did not suffer from water rationing. However as the drought is expected to worsen from El Nino, the state government has directed PBAPP to adopt all water supply and water demand management measures, including increasing water tariffs, to avoid water rationing. PBAPP has even been warned that if water rationing is imposed despite adopting these measures, then “heads will roll”.
Accordingly, the Penang State Government has directed PBAPP to vigilantly monitor the water supply situation in the state. PBAPP has been directed to provide weekly reports on the effective capacities of the Air Itam Dam and the Teluk Bahang Dam, as well as the levels of Sungai Muda, Penang’s main source of raw water.
| Effective Capacity | Days of supply | |
| Air Itam Dam | 74.6% | 73 |
| Teluk Bahang Dam | 64.4% | 196 |
| Mengkuang Dam | 36.7% | 61 |
(ongoing expansion construction project)
The Penang State Government has also directed PBAPP to take all the necessary precautions from now to prepare for El Niño phenomenon. Our stand is firm: we have to avoid water rationing in Penang at all costs, so that our people and businesses do not suffer.
WATER CONSUMERS MUST PLAY THEIR ROLE
At the same time, I would like to urge all water consumers in Penang to start conserving water now. The Penang State Government and PBAPP need your urgent cooperation to avoid water rationing in Penang, if El Niño occurs and there is another long drought this year.
We need to restore our dam storage reserves from now so that we have enough in case of El Niño. We have to prolong our water reserves for as long as possible in the face of a potential 6-18 month drought.