Penang Hill Water Cathment Area
22 July 2007
Importance of Catchment Protection as a future source of water supply
This is a awareness and education programme for Universiti Sains Malaysia students from the Geography Section and the School of Environmental Technology. The students have to write a report after they finished the activity. A group of about 200 undergraduates of USM were taken into the Penang Hill Catchment area. Bus was provided by USM. Water Watch Penang provided the facilitators. The students were briefed by WWP facilitators on the history and process of how the forest acts as a water catchment. The group hiked up the trail to 84 station. Along the route, the group encountered many clean streams and some tests of water quality were performed. The discharge and cross-sections of the small streams were also measured as part of the exercise. Students were taught that inside the forest, the water quality of streams was very good. After the hiking, the group was taken to visit the PBA’s Waterfall Treatment Plant where a PBA staff explained about the water treatment process.