The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 | Page 21

Sourcing from the Sky
COVER FEATURE

– Rainwater Utilisation
Systems in Malaysia
By Ir. Hj Ahmad Jamalluddin Shaaban,
Ir. Mohd Zaki Mat Amin,
Nurul Huda Md Adnan,
Goh Yee Cai
National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM)

NAHRIM highlights several locations in the country that have benefited
from its rainwater harvesting systems. Going forward, it calls for more
effort to encourage the use and practice of rainwater harvesting,
especially for existing buildings. On a much larger scale, multi-purpose
rainwater management in a city could be a proactive and alternative
solution for flooding and water supply issues in Malaysia.

R

ainwater harvesting has
been touted as one of
the solutions for the
water crisis. Rainwater can be
an inexpensive, on-site supply
of water that can be used for
outdoor, non-potable uses with
little, if any, treatment, or for
a variety of additional uses
including potable supplies with
appropriately
higher
levels
of treatment. As cited by
Garrison et. al. (2011), rainwater
harvesting practice can also
reduce runoff of excess water
that would otherwise contribute
to storm water flows, a leading
cause of water pollution and
urban flooding.
Rainwater harvesting also
has the potential to improve
water quality around city areas
by preventing excess storm

water (often filled with sewage,
toxins, and chemicals that coat
our sidewalks and streets) from
washing into rivers, streams,
and beaches. In fact, the US
Environment Protection Agency
(EPA) views urban runoff as “one
of the greatest threats to water
quality in the country,” and one
of the leading causes of surface
water pollution (US General
Accounting Office, 2001). The
reduction of water pollution
would subsequently reduce the
load for water treatment in water
treatment plants.
Policy and Regulations
The 1998 drought and water
supply crisis in Klang Valley
promoted a surge of interest
in rainwater harvesting. In May
1998, the Ministry of Housing

and Local Government (MHLG)
expressed an interest in
designing housing that include
facilities for collecting rainwater.
In June the following year,
MHLG produced a guideline on
“Installing a Rainwater Collection
and Utilisation System”. In
March 2007, the National Water
Resources Council approved the
extension of the application of
rainwater harvesting systems
which were to be included in
the “Guideline and Regulation
of Building Planning”. This
guideline encourages the use
of rainwater harvesting systems
in existing Government and
public buildings. The National
Council for Local Government
approved a regulation in the
Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL)
for rainwater harvesting systems

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