Underground water resources can be proposed as the brand new source of domestic water because current consumption continues to be low, said Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Saturday (March 25).
This was because underground water resources were three trillion cubic meters and water use accounted for under 1.5 percent of the country’s total consumption, he said.
“Our country has abundant water resources and receives 907 billion cubic meters of rainfall yearly, which is extraordinary, but we shouldn’t have enough water.
“It is impossible for a country with many water resources to face water shortages… it means we are poor at water management. “As chairman of the National Water Resources Board, I feel that there are states, whether in the Peninsula or Sabah and Sarawak, that are facing water shortages… it is a big challenge,” he said.
He was speaking on the launch of the nationwide celebration of World Water Day 2017 under the theme “wastewater” at Dataran Teluk Kemang.
Commenting further, Ahmad Zahid said that effective water management is the responsibility of all parties, each on the federal and state government levels, to stop water shortages.
He also outlined 4 major sustainable development goals for the country’s wastewater services industry.
The 4 foremost areas are upgrading wastewater services through the usage of recent technologies which can be environmentally friendly and increase coverage and accessibility in rural areas, including major cities outside the Klang Valley.
There has also been a deal with rationalizing small and wasteful wastewater treatment plants to scale back the environmental pollution impacts of the affluent, in addition to on waste-to-riches commercialization efforts.
Source: This is an element of an article originally published in Asia News Channel.
