THE Penang government has requested that the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) conduct cloud seeding over the state’s water reservoirs as water levels at two major dams have dropped significantly.
According to Penang Water Supply Corporation CEO K. Pathmanathan, the capacity of the Air Itam dam is now 49.5% and that of the Teluk Bahang dam is 50.7%.
“The effective capacities of these two dams have been projected to drop further towards critical levels, if the current dry season extends to August,” he was reported as saying in a statement.
Pathmanathan noted that the state secretary’s office had asked the meteorological department about companies capable of carrying out cloud seeding but was told that none met the criteria established by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
“As such, the state government has no choice but to seek the assistance of NADMA to intervene and facilitate the implementation of cloud seeding operations as soon as possible,” he said.
Pathmanathan advised Penang residents on Tuesday to use water moderately because the total water level at the two dams had dropped by nearly half due to low rainfall and high domestic consumption.
In January, the state’s average daily consumption was 875 mil litres per day (MLD), and in February, it was 944 MLD. As a result, the capacity of the Air Itam dam fell from 82.5% on January 1 to 51.8% on April 10, while the water level of the Teluk Bahang dam fell from 64% to 51.3%. – April 13, 2023
Main pic credit: Penang Global Tourism
