All have a role in conserving water

IREFER to “Time to stop taking water for granted” ( The Star, Jan 7). The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KETTHA) secretarygeneral made a passionate plea to Malaysian consumers to not waste water.

Says Datuk Loo Took Gee: “With incessant rainfall lately, we may take for granted that water is everywhere, but are we sure that it will still be there tomorrow?”

How precious this commodity has become today. Yet we care little for it.

Loo sends a timely reminder to us to value this precious commodity as a “gift from Heaven” that we need to use wisely as well as to conserve for use by our future generations.

Let us conserve this precious gift of life we call water through excellence and innovation.

Malaysians generally have been rather wasteful in how we abuse this “precious source of life”, more so when some state administration gives it away free of charge to some segments of its citizens.

And what do these citizens do? Some of them just waste it thoughtlessly, perhaps just because it is “free” to them.

And non-revenue water (NRW) loss has been estimated by the Association of Water and Energy Research to amount to about Rm1.7bil in 2010, with about Rm600mil worth lost in Selangor.

Minimising water loss from leaks is not easy, nor is it cheap, but it can certainly be done and can be costeffective. I have heard of in-situ pipe repair that can minimise leakages by resurfacing the interiors of large water supply pipes and thus reduce leakages.

This may be an interim solution until pipe replacement is possible, especially for the older or more leak prone pipes.

As for theft of water, TNB has shown that effective monitoring of electricity theft and due prosecution can result in substantial revenue recovery.

We also need some details on how the nation can reduce both water consumption and NRW loss. Perhaps KETTHA or industry experts can provide this.

From the user perspective, we hear of “rain-water harvesting” as a means to conserve water and to reduce potable water use. But these are costly initiatives and cannot be easily implemented especially for the lower- and middle-income householders.

Householders can also be encouraged to use low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water use without losing any of the facilities they enjoy. But again, these fittings may be costly and not affordable for low income earners.

Perhaps KETTHA can help these low income earners to change to the low-flow plumbing fixtures by giving grants similar to the case of five-star refrigerators and air-conditioners to help save electricity.

It should be much easier to adopt water efficiency features in green buildings, which normally use these fittings as well as rain water harvesting. It is the replacement of such fittings in existing buildings that needs some support and encouragement.

Another situation that is wasteful is the customary household car washing practice. Why does Malaysia still allow such waste of potable water for car washing when Singapore had “outlawed” the practice over a quarter century ago? It is certtainly one “good habit” that we can learn from and emulate.

We can also consider copying our neighbour in providing “industrial water” for non-potable use for industries where the need for filtration and treatment can be greatly reduced, saving not only the processing cost but also the electricity used for the processes.

Of course, this would require a separate water distribution pipline system, but this can be combined with potable water pipe replacement to make our water use more efficient.

KETTHA and other ministries involved in social infrastructure should greatly increase their awareness raising activities to persuade citizens to adopt efficiency measures for water and electricity.

We as individual citizens too can “walk the extra mile” to make such resource conservation “a way of life” to meet national objectives of sustainable development.

I appeal to all Malaysians to resolve to do our part for this noble effort. BULBIR SINGH, Seremban.