Thestar: Mar 20, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Harvesting rainwater and using groundwater are two ways to alleviate shortages in times of drought, said the Council for Water and Green Technology Professionals.
“A secondary water source provides more security, especially in times of crisis,” said its secretary-general Mohmad Asari Daud at a roundtable discussion on “Clean Water for Our Future” on Thursday.
Currently, he said, only 1% of the country’s water supply is from groundwater while 99% is derived from surface water.
He said that in Malaysia the quality of groundwater was generally better than surface water.
“The storage of rainwater should be encouraged as it can be utilised for cleaning purposes and watering plants at home,” added Mohmad Asari.
World Water Day falls on Monday and in discussing ways to obtain clean and an undisrupted supply, Malaysian Water Partnership chairman Datuk Syed Muhammad Shahbudin emphasised the need for an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) system.
“There are 11 ministries as well as agencies and operators involved but they are not co-ordinated,” he said, adding that the IWRM system was not moving at the moment.
Other panellists at the discussion were Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association information secretary Zulkefli Muhammad and the Institute of Geology Malaysia’s hydro-geology expert Mohd Nazan Awang.
Malaysian Water Association immediate past president and Syarikat Air Terengganu’s former chief executive officer Datuk Wan Ngah Ali was the moderator.
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