Treatment plants almost dry despite heavy downpour, relief committee requesting cloud seeding
Galong (right) and others at the press conference.
SARATOK: Water woes in Saratok District are at a critical stage and although it rained heavily on Wednesday night, the Lichok Water Treatment Plant here and Lubau Water Treatment Plant in Betong are almost dried up.
If the dry spell were to continue the District Disaster Management and Relief Committee would have to look elsewhere to obtain water for distribution to the affected people in 42 villages, longhouses and Saratok Town.
“Some 45,000 people or 65 per cent of the district’s population are facing shortage of treated water,” Betong Deputy Resident Galong Luang said after chairing a committee meeting here yesterday.
Realising that water rationing would only help alleviate the problem temporarily, he said the committee had decided to request for cloud seeding to be carried out in the district immediately.
He also said the committee wanted to ensure that water rationing was done efficiently to ensure the essential resource reached every affected household.
To achieve that objective, the committee proposed that the water should be distributed through the community leaders and councillors and coordinated by the District Office.
The committee also wanted the distribution of bottled water to the affected families to be continued, and recommended that each family be given four boxes of bottled water per week.
For storing of water, the committee proposed that each family be supplied with a unit of 1Malaysia tank.
The committee held a meeting on July 22 when the water woes started, during which they decided to start distributing treated water and bottled water to the affected families immediately.
Till July 29, they had hired lorries to distribute treated water to some 2,947 families in the 42 affected villages, he said, adding that all in all a total of 2,549,053.6 litres of water worth RM153,000 had been distributed.
During the same period, bottled water worth RM134,394 was distributed to 2,947 worst affected residents, he added.
Meanwhile, the committee also expressed concern on the effect of water shortage on the Fire and Rescue Department as firemen had encountered problems in containing bush fires in July.
Also present was Sarawak Administrative Officer Laga Kueh.