Ministry studying how to make Johor zero-reliant on S'pore for treated water

The Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry is in the midst of conducting a full study in a bid to ensure that Johor will no longer rely on the supply of treated water from Singapore.

Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the study, which is being conducted with the cooperation of the National Water Service Commission (Span) and Johor state government, was to identify the impact, framework, proposals and discussions on the reliance for the basic necessity.

“We want zero dependency for Johor and we don’t want them to get (treated) water from Singapore anymore. At the same time, this study will ensure sufficient water supply in Johor in the future.

“The findings of this study will be submitted to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in another month,” he told reporters after launching the Span Water Conservation Campaign in conjunction with the World Water Day celebration at the Petaling Jaya Boulevard today.

Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian had said in early March that the state government planned to stop depending on Singapore for its treated water supply.

At present, Singapore purchases raw water from Johor at the price of 3 sen per 1,000 gallons and then sells back treated water to Johor for 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.

Asked about the water levels at all dams nationwide due to the hot weather, Xavier said they were under control.

“Although the water levels at several dams are low, they are not at a critical level. Anyway, it has started to rain now and we expect certain areas hard hit by the hot weather to experience rain this month,” he said.

Earlier, Xavier announced the appointment of seven new Span commissioners. They are Steven Choong Shiau Yoon, Abdul Rashid Maidin, Gurdial Singh Nijar, Abdul Halim Jantan, V Subramaniam, Faizal Parish Abdullah and Sarajun Hoda Abdul Hassan.

“They will determine the direction to be taken by Span and ensure the commission functions smoothly,” he said, adding that they were all picked based on their experience and expertise in water-related matters.

- Bernama