Sabah rations water

BACA ELOK-ELOK NEGERI SAPE NI........

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has ordered water rationing in areas experiencing shortages as the dry spell shows no sign of abating.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said rationing was necessary because water supply in certain districts was becoming critical.

“We do not want to burden the people but this must be done,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Musa also reminded the public to be sparing in their usage of water and to cut down on unnecessary activities which would require large amounts of water.

Among the areas affected is the east coast of Tawau. The water level in Sungai Tawau, the district’s main source, has dropped in the past two months.

“We need a dam in Tawau urgently. As it is, the water treatment plant is affected (whenever) the river level goes down,” Sri Tanjung state assemblyman Jimmy Wong told The Star yesterday.

He said water shortages in Tawau were particularly acute in the downtown area as well as the densely populated Jalan Apas.

Other areas facing water shortages include the interior districts of Keningau and Tenom. The water level of rivers such as Sungai Pegalan has dropped by about 80%.

Sabah Meteorological Department director Abdul Malik Tusin said the dry spell, which had also triggered numerous bush and forest fires, was expected to last until April.

He said the dry spell was because of the tail end of the north-east monsoon, which usually lasts from November until March, as well as the El Nino phenomenon that began since June.