The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 | Page 53

water security in Malaysia are as
follows:
• Water
Pollution.
Good
quality water is essential for
public health consumption.
The quality of rivers in
Malaysia is being degraded
by point and non-point
sources pollutants. Among
the major sources of point
pollution are effluents from
oil palm, rubber and food
processing industries which
contribute to high Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD) and
Chemical Oxygen Demand
(COD)
concentrations.
The major sources of
non-point
pollution
are
from land-use activities
especially land clearing for
agricultural areas, forestry
activities and construction
which
contribute
to
accumulation of suspended
solids. Management of
pollutants is important for
sustainable water resources
management in Malaysia.
Integrated
water
resources
management
issues (IWRM), which has
been discussed in public fora
during the last two decades,
have not fully embraced the
extent to which Selangor and
Kedah have made inroads
into the issues through
the formation of Lembaga
Urus Air Selangor (LUAS)
and Lembaga Sumber Air
Negeri Kedah (LSAN). The
holistic approach to the
implementation of IWRM is
dependent on the political
will and awareness of its
importance and cooperation
between related agencies
responsible for sources of
water.

• High Non-Revenue Water
(NRW). The problem of
NRW faced by water utility
companies
remains
a
concern in Malaysia. The
estimated levels of NRW for
2012 range from 18% (in
Penang) to 66% (in Perlis)
and it is clear that the
task of reducing the NRW
levels is both daunting and
challenging.
Non-revenue
water within a utility’s
network is a huge source of
wastage. It adds greatly to
operating costs and leaks
can add big complication and
expense to the sustainable
management
of
water
services. The components
of NRW are made up of
commercial losses such
as apparent losses due to
meter
under-registration,
illegal use arising from
fraudulent and unregistered
connections and legal but
often
unmetered
uses
like fire fighting, flushing
of mains, street cleaning,
etc. In addition, physical
losses such as losses
from broken and leaking
pipes, storage reservoirs
overflows,
customers’
service connections etc., all
contribute to high NRW.
The Malaysian Water
Association has conducted
several
specialised
conferences such as “Water
Loss Asia” to inculcate
awareness and gain industry
support on NRW reduction
programmes. A workshop
post “Water Loss Asia 2010”
made a recommendation
to the Government for the
formation of a specialist
group with the following

terms of reference:
• Build strategies
• Standardise guidelines
• Set priorities for NRW
programmes
• Review target and
assisting operator to
set realistic targets
• Advice on budget and
investment
• Give clear direction on
NRW in Malaysia
The
successful
implementation of NRW programmes especially the
reduction of physical losses will defer infrastructure
projects and also reduce the
carbon footprint of the water
industry.
In addition, the role of
the specialist group should
be guided by the following:
• Outline the framework,
milestones and
outcomes
• Determine the
deliverables
• Write codes of practice
• Produce manual and
standard operation
procedures for NRW
• Form close links to
international and
regional water NGOs
To
date,
this
recommendation has not
been fully implemented
though SPAN (Suruhanjaya
Perkhidmatan Air Negara)
in its capacity as regulator
formed by the NRW Task
Force to standardise NRW
practices
in
Malaysia.
Relevant authorities should
join effort and put more
resources to alleviate NRW
wastages which appear to

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