Help save the dams
Help save the dams
By CAROLYN OOI
DO you know that by cutting down the number of times we flush the toilet we would be able to save four dams.Water Watch Penang president Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng said nine litres of water were used for every flush of the conventional WC.The water level at Air Itam Dam. “The average Penangite uses 287 litres of water per day but you can do your part by reducing one flush per day,” he said during the recent World Water Day 2008 celebration at the Penang Botanic Gardens.“Just put the toilet lid down and flush after two visits or after the last visit at night as urine only becomes smelly after a few hours when it is concentrated.“Put some pandan leaves in the toilet to reduce the smell but if you defecate, you have to flush,” he said.The event Coping With Water Scarcity was organised by Water Watch Penang and supported by the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP).Enlarged: Lim looking at the insects fopund in the rivers. WIth him is Hock Seng. There were exhibition booths and posters on nature and environment and drawing and colouring contests for children and secondary school students.Water Day which falls on April 20 is the only day in the year when the public can visit the Waterfall Dam and water treatment plant.Visiting the treatment plant for the first time with her family was interesting, said teacher Yeap Chew Kim, 47.“This is a once in a year opportunity and we get to see the effort put in to treat water before it reaches our taps.“At home, I try to conserve water by using water from the washing machine to flush the toilet,” she said.Yeap’s daughter, Rachel Teo, eight, said that she too tried to save water by using a cup of water to rinse her teeth instead of letting the tap run.Accounts clerks and best friends, Ch’ng Ai Lee and Lim Li Mei, both 31, said the view from the top of the Waterfall Dam was breathtaking.Once a year: The water treatment plant which was opened to the public during Worle Water Day celebration. “We have never been up here and since the authorities allowed people to visit, we decided to hike up. The scenery was worth the hike,” said Ch’ng.Li Mei said it was also an educational visit.“We were also given booklets on water quality in Penang containing useful information for consumers.“The booklets also help us understand the water treatment process better,’’ she said.Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who launched the event, said using less water meant lower monthly bills, discharging less wastewater and reducing water tariffs.Li Mei: It was an educational visit. “I am sure we all can avoid using a hose, clean our cars or motorcycles less often, repair leaking pipes and take shorter showers.“These are not difficult things to do, especially if you seriously want to help sustain good water supply at reasonable prices in Penang,” he said.He said Penangites could refer to PBAPP publications or Water Watch Penang or visit Water Watch Penang website for water saving tips.Lim said the total water consumption in the Penang had increased by 34% (from 195.7 billion litres to 262.5 bilion litres) from 1998 to last year.He said if the water demand were to continue growing at 3.4% annually, the state would need to develop alternative raw water resources with Perak and reduce water dependency on Sungai Muda where 80% of the state's water came from and shared with Kedah.“Inter-state water supply projects will incur millions or billions of ringgit in cost and take many years to realise but if we become a water saving society, we can reduce water consumption while reducing the urgency of multi-million ringgit water infrastructure projects,” he said.Also present were state Public Works, Utilities and Transporta-tion committee chairman Lim Hock Seng, Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, Penang Water Supply Corporation general manager Jaseni Maidinsa and Water Watch Penang advisor Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal.
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