The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 | Página 66

INGENIEUR
water conservation efforts, PBAPP has to gradually
raise the value of water towards 2050 to convince
water consumers to value it as an important
resource that should be used wisely.
As at 2013, PBAPP uses two main
mechanisms to manage the value of water:
• Water tariffs – the last water tariff review
was in 2009. The tariff increase was 27%,
affecting only trade/industry consumers;
• Water Conservation Surcharge (WCS) –
the WCS is the first surcharge of its kind
to be introduced in Malaysia in 2009 to
motivate domestic consumers to save
water and use it wisely at home. The
initial value of the WCS was RM0.24 per
1,000 litres, applicable only for domestic
consumption above 35m3 per month.
However, after almost three years, it was
found that the RM0.24 premium was not significant
enough to motivate domestic water conservation.
As such, in 2013, the WCS value was increased
to RM0.48 per 1,000 litres, applicable only for
domestic consumption above 35m3 per month.
PBAPP statistics show that seven of every 10
households in Penang did not have to pay the
WCS in 2012 because they used less than 35m3
per month. Only 28% of high volume domestic
consumers were subject to the WCS – and they
have the option of avoiding the WCS by simply
reducing their