Labuan has to initiate its own water storage resources
KOTA KINABALU: Labuan requires an immediate transformation in its water storage through the adoption of more sustainable alternatives, said International Water Association (IWA) Coastal & Estuarine Development special group member Datuk Dr Ir Ts Amarjit Singh.
Amarjit said this is especially considering the recent announcement by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) on the increase of water tariff, which has received mixed reaction by the people, especially in Labuan.
He said with the water supply inconsistency, Labuan dwellers will be burdened with the extra payment, and he is concerned whether the island will be able to obtain good services and regular water supply as it currently depends on mainland Sabah.
Amarjit echoed Labuan Pakatan
Harapan (PH) chairman Simsudin Sidek’s statement that the water supply service in Labuan requires immediate attention before any tariff adjustment is implemented.
In this regard, he said in order for Labuan to be sustainable for water supply, it has to initiate its own water storage resources such as a coastal reservoir, which is a type of reservoir that stores fresh water on sea coast areas near a river delta.
“Coastal reservoir is an example of forward-thinking engineering that the Labuan Water Department needs to acknowledge.
“Building a reservoir in the water close to a river mouth is a tried-and-true technique for gathering rainwater, and it may be the greatest way to provide Labuan as a whole with a sustainable water supply,” he said in a statement.
Amarjit, who is also former
State Water Department (JANS) director, explained that coastal reservoir is an innovative concept of storing flood water from a river system before it enters the sea, and it is the best method to collect rainwater because unlike a traditional dam that depends on precipitation, all rainwater ends up in the sea.
He said it is a paradigm shift in water resource development where water is stored downstream of the river, preferably near the river-sea confluence, rather than the conventional method of storing water in inland reservoirs, adding that the statistics shows that the world discharges 42,800 km3/year of freshwater into the sea which mostly consist of flood water.
Furthermore, he said the implementation of a coastal reservoir can be coupled as flood control infrastructure, floating solar farms and tourism activities, and at the global level, the coastal reservoir technology is not new and has been successfully applied and built in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other nations.
Amarjit highlighted some of the benefits of this technology include being less expensive to construct and operate than a dam for the same quantity of water storage, not requiring the flooding of a large area of land or the moving of people, and having negligible to no negative impacts on the environment.
“The authorities in Labuan should seriously consider doing a comparison study between off river storage (ORS) and a coastal reservoir.
“In addition, a self-independent water treatment plant should be built in Labuan rather than depending on the mainland in order for continuous development progress,” he said.