Ministry developing Nawabs at 19 river basins

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) through the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) is developing the National Water Balance Management System (Nawabs) in 19 river basins, the Dewan Rakyat was told Thursday.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the programme aims to ensure the function of the river as a source of water is maintained, including mitigation actions and early preparations by various relevant agencies in facing the dry season.

He said to date, the system has been developed at seven river basins, while nine other basins are scheduled in January 2027 followed by the remaining three basins.

“This programme also involves notifying drought forecasts two months in advance and drought warnings 14 days in advance as well as notifying dam levels and storage for drought monitoring.

“JPS is also monitoring 25 other dams to ensure storage is at a ready level as a source of domestic and agricultural water,” he said.

He was responding to a question from Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PNRantau Panjang) regarding coordination between agencies and efforts to utilise flood water to face the season drought during the Minister’s Question Time.

Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said efforts to utilise flood water or excess rainwater can only be implemented by using structural solutions including the construction of dams, weirs or reservoirs such as hybrid of river augmentation (HORAS), which is implemented in Sungai Klang and Sungai Melaka.

The ministry, he said, will also continue to expand the construction of the Riverside

Water Reservoir (TAPS) which is a reservoir system built on the banks of the river to receive excess river water, especially during the rainy season.

“Water from TAPS will be released into the river or directly to the LRA (water treatment plant) if needed during the dry season or when there is pollution in the river, depending on the capacity and water resources available,” he said.

He said TAPS also acts as flood control during the monsoon season to contain excess flood water flow.

According to Fadillah, the ministry will work with the Department of Meteorology, the National Disaster Management Agency and the state governments to ensure the safety of raw water supply sources during the dry season, including conducting cloud seeding operations aimed at increasing the water level in the dam.