Save water and maintain water quality
19 December 2022 – Best view with desktop
Sustainability: A back-to-basics revisit of Water Security, Food Security and Waste Management
In a recent event organised by the World Bank Group The Global Green Finance Leadership Program (GFLP) 2022 on 29 Nov 2022 not only launched the Report Launch: Unleashing Sustainable Finance in South-East Asia but up the ante bringing delegates and visitors site visits to namely Solid Waste Management (i.e. Cenviro Sdn Bhd), Water Treatment Plant (i.e. Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) Sungai Semenyih) and Urban Farming (i.e. Sunway FutureX Farm). Aleevar team had the privilege to visit these facilities and to share our site visit experience.
I had the privilege to visit Water Treatment Plant (i.e. Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) Sungai Semenyih).
Water scarcity and the challenges faced by the Malaysian water supply industry
Water scarcity has become a global problem due to the increased demand by population and economic growth. Developing countries face the problem of degraded water quality, inadequate water supply, and poor sanitation infrastructure. Climate change has exacerbated the situation further with unpredictable weather patterns producing unprecedented downpours of rain resulting in flash floods in areas that have poor drainage management systems. On the other hand, drought occurs when some water catchment areas may not be able to provide a sufficient supply of water to communities.
In Malaysia, water resources of 80.8% are sourced from rivers, 17.9% from dams, and 1.2% from underground water. The report, The Malaysian Water Industry Status & Outlook Report 2020/21, mentioned the challenges faced by the Malaysian water supply industry are the need for water tariff adjustments, integrated water resources management, leakages due to Non Revenue Water (NRW), weak enforcement of pollution management and explore new water resources as a circular economy.
The revenue collected from water tariffs only covers 76% of the total cost of water production in Malaysia. This deficit of 24% is not financially sustainable for the water sector in long run. The impact is the water sector’s inability to upgrade and maintain the water assets, and to recover leakages from NRW due to ageing pipes. Besides that, Malaysia lacks IR4.0 smart technology in the sewerage system for the water supply industry.
The whole-of-government approach (WGA) of integrated water resources management by government ministries, agencies, and regulators is required to implement holistic water management practices from source, treatment, distribution, collection, and reuse based on the water catchment or river basin approach. Water pollution is attributed to a lack of legislation on the safety of dam water supply and a shortage of water management courses for new talent development.
Global average daily use of freshwater is 303-379 litres per person reported in 2005
The global average daily use of freshwater per person is 80-100 gallons (303-379 litres) for indoor use. The highest water consumption in the world in 2005 was Armenia at 598.0 litres per capita per day (LCD), followed by Costa Rica which consumed 539.2 LCD, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 507.7 LCD. The USA consumed 304.4 LCD and Malaysia consumed 177.5 LCD. Other countries closer to Malaysia such as the Philippines consumed 204.2 LCD, Vietnam consumed 191.7 LCD, India consumed 136.1 LCD, China consumed 129.3 LCD, Thailand consumed 119.2 LCD, and Indonesia consumed 86.8 LCD.
Water Consumption Per Capita Per Day (LCD)
Water consumption of 11,540 million litres per day (MLD) in Malaysia in 2021
The growth of water demand is affected by the growth of the population and the development of the economic sector in Malaysia. Water consumption was at 10,044 MLD in 2021 where the water consumption was from households at 59.1% and 40.9% by industries.
The average Malaysia of household water consumption was 201 litres per person per day in 2017 higher than the United Nation’s recommended requirement of 165 litres per person per day.
At the state level, the highest water consumption was Selangor at 30.1%, followed by Johor at 12.4%, and Perak at 8.3%.
Total water production in Malaysia (excluding Sabah and Sarawak) was 15,058 MLD in 2021
Total water production in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan was 15,058 MLD. The highest water production was Selangor (4,985 MLD), followed by Johor (1,848 MLD), Kedah (1,538 MLD), Perak (1,386 MLD), Pahang (1,281 MLD), Penang (1,126 MLD), Negeri Sembilan (811 MLD), Terengganu (656 MLD), Melaka (603 MLD), Kelantan (504 MLD), Perlis (236 MLD), and Labuan (84 MLD) in 2021. Based on the report from Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN), the total water production has increased from 14,056 MLD in 2017 to 15,058 MLD in 2021.
Total Water Production (in MLD) by States in Malaysia
The highest revenue water was Selangor at 3,612 MLD in 2021
Revenue water is billed authorised water consumption that reaches the consumers. The highest billed authorised water consumption was Selangor (3,612 MLD), followed by Johor (1,385 MLD), Perak (976 MLD), Penang (860 MLD), Kedah (770 MLD), Pahang (649 MLD), Negeri Sembilan (549 MLD), Terengganu (460 MLD), Melaka (414 MLD), Kelantan (239 MLD), Perlis (91 MLD), and Labuan (52 MLD) in 2021 reported by Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN). The water production in Peninsular Malaysia has increased from 9,407 in 2017 to 10,059 in 2021.
Total Billed Water Consumption (in MLD) by States in Malaysia
36.8% Non Revenue Water (NRW) in Malaysia loss due to pipe leakages, reservoir overflow and under registration
Non Revenue Water (NRW) is the water loss from water reservoir to consumers that may have been caused by pipe leakages, reservoir overflows, meter under-registration and illegal connections. In the conference of Asia Water 2022, Ministry of Environment & Water Malaysia mentioned the total NRW in Malaysia was 36.8% in 2021. The highest NRW in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan was Perlis (63.3%), followed by Kelantan (52.6%), Kedah (49.9%), Pahang (49.3%), Labuan (37.6%), Terengganu (32.8%), Negeri Sembilan (32.3%), Melaka (31.2%), Perak (29.6%), Selangor (27.5%), Johor (25.1%), and Penang (23.6%) reported by Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN). Previously, the total NRW (Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan) in 2017 was 33.4%.
Total Non Revenue Water (%) by States in Malaysia
Air Selangor operates 5,000 MLD of water treatment plants in Malaysia
Although 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water, 97% is ocean water and only 3% is freshwater (i.e. drinking water). The largest water treatment plant in the world is operated by James W. Jardine Water Purification Plant in Chicago with a capacity of 1.4 billion gallons (5,300 million litres) per day, followed by Guandu Water Treatment Plant with a capacity of 981 million gallons (3,713 million litres) per day in Brazil, and General San Martín Water Treatment Plant in Argentina with the capacity of 894 million gallons (3,384 million litres) per day. The largest water treatment plant in Singapore is Changi Water Reclamation Plant (CWRP) with the capacity to treat 176 million gallons (666 million litres) of used water a day.
In Malaysia, one of the largest water operators in Selangor state is Air Selangor with a production capacity of 5,000 million litres per day (MLD) with 34 water treatment plants. I have visited personally one of the notable water treatment plant, organised by the World Bank Group, Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) Sungai Semenyih has a production capacity of 700 MLD completed by 2024.
Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant, the largest water treatment plant in Malaysia, has a production capacity of 1,130 MLD of treated water operated by Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB). The second highest water consumption state was Johor with a production capacity of 2,133 MLD is operated by Ranhill Holdings Berhad. One of the biggest water treatment plants in Johor is Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) Semangar with a production capacity of 318 MLD. In Penang, Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (SDWTP) produces more than 80% of treated water in Penang and is operated by Perbandanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP). The production capacity of SDWTP increased from 136 million litres per day (MLD) in 1973 to 1,228 MLD in 2019.