Rainwater harvesting project to benefit 2,300 villagers
KOTA KINABALU: More than 2,300 villagers will benefit from the Heineken Rainwater Harvesting System project, MCA Penampang chief Datuk Francis Goh said.
In line with its global sustainability strategy of Brewing a Better World (BaBW), Heineken Malaysia, together with Kupi-Kupi FM had installed rainwater-harvesting system at three centres in Sabah, namely Balai Raya Kg Kouidupan, Dewan Nagashiba, Penampang and Balai Raya Kampung Pinawantai, Kudat.
“Water is an important source of life, which we need to conserve. The growing population demands more resources for living. Therefore, it is important that resources are used diligently. Rainwater harvesting system is a good example for us to do so,” Goh said when launching the rainwater harvesting system at Balai Raya Kg Koudipan on Saturday.
Among the benefits of the system is that it is easy to maintain, it reduces the demand for ground water and water sources like rivers, it reduces water bills as the water can be used for daily activities such as cleaning, laundry, bathing etc and it also can help reduce flooding, Goh explained.
“The greatest advantage of rainwater is that it is free from pollutants, salts, minerals as well as almost all other natural and man-made contaminants.
“The recent test conducted on the water quality of the system shows that the water quality is PH7, which is neutral. As such, the water in the storage tank is potable water -- meaning to say, you can safely use this water for drinking and cooking purposes,” Goh disclosed.
Present in the event was Heineken Malaysia Head of Corporate Affairs Shagivarnam Ratnam.
“Our main objective is to increase access to clean water for communities in Sabah. Through our technical assessment by experts deployed by Kupi-Kupi FM and engagement with JKKK, we had identified three areas with high rainfalls, which were most suitable for the installation.
“These areas receive more than 125,000 gallons of water from rainfall every year. With this rainwater harvesting system, we would be able to save more than 80% of this quantity,” Shagivarnam said, adding that the project also aims to increase awareness on the importance of water conservation among communities and empowering them to manage.
In other words, the systems installed at respective communities consist of two 800-gallon water tanks with a maximum storage capacity of over 6,000 litres enabling potential savings of 100,000 gallons of water annually.
He revealed that Heineken had invested RM100,000 in this project, with additional RM40,000 to upgrade Balai Raya Koidupan for the use of the local community.
Utilizing pre-existing roofs as catchments for rainwater, the system employs a two-stage filteration system to ensure clean and potable water.
Apart from that, it will also function as a secure back-up in the vent of water scarcity and aid in decreasing storm water runoff, thereby helping to reduce local flooding.
Also present in the event were Heineken Malaysia Sabah Regional Sales Manager Danny Teo, JKK chief Adrian FJ Kananong and Kupi-kupi FM Programme Manager Lester Calvin Miol.