The low level of water reserve in Selangor would not be an issue if water concessionaire Syabas can reduce water loss, said Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim who pointed out that non-revenue water in the state was above 30 per cent.
Non-revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer and such losses can be real losses through leaks, sometimes also referred to as physical losses or apparent losses, for example through theft or metering inaccuracies.
“If you save 10 per cent of the non-revenue water, then the 2.4 per cent figure becomes irrelevant,” said Khalid, in response to claims that the state was facing a water crisis as water reserve level stood at a critical 2.4 per cent.
“It is because the management of the treatment plants are not correct. That is why we asked (accounting firms) Halcrow and Atkins to check on this,” he told reporters after launching the state-level World Museum Day here on Tuesday.
In Selangor, water works is run by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS), the water supply corporation for Selangor state which is a subsidiary of Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd.
Syabas provides water supply by sourcing raw water mostly from surface water collected by several dams, lakes and rivers, and treated at nearby water treatment plants.
On the Human Rights Party’s decision to contest in various Parliament and state seats in Selangor, Khalid said he would not stop them as it was part of the democratic process.
“Pakatan prefers a one-on-one strategy to take on Barisan. But the independents can do what they want,” he said, citing the Bukit Selambau by-election in 2009 where 13 candidates contested.
