| Act now to avert water woes, Penangites told GEORGE TOWN (Nov 1, 2009) : Penang will face severe water shortage problems by 2011 if Penangites do not take steps to save water resources such as implementing rain harvesting measures at high-rise buildings. State Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) director Hanapi Mohamad Noor said apartment buildings will be able to save 20% on water bills by using a rain harvesting system to provide water for usage at the common areas. "The rain water collected from the rain harvesting system could be used by the residents to wash cars, water the gardens and to flush toilets and wash hands at the toilets in the common areas," said Hanapi who officiated the DID's pilot rain harvesting project at N-Park condominiums over the weekend. Although the system may be costly to implement as the installation of the system at N-Park costs about RM250,000, Hanapi said it is practically maintenance-free. "The system uses a gravity system to channel the collected rain water to the storage tanks and does not use any pumps or electricity so it does not need to be maintained. It only requires regular checks to make sure the pipes and tanks were not clogged with leaves or other solid matter," he said. Following the pilot project at the condominium, DID is looking at implementing a similar system at a low-cost apartment next year. "We will install a similar system costing about RM200,000 at a low-cost apartment next" he said. However, DID will not be going around installing the system at all of the residential high-rise buildings in the state. "We can't afford to do this free for every building. We are only installing the system in two buildings as an example to all developers to encourage them to incorporate this system into their developments," he said. The department is also encouraging homeowners and residential high-rise building management corporations to install the system on their own. The rain harvesting system installed at N-Park comprises six tanks with the capacity to store 60,000 litres of rain water. The tank capacity will ensure that the water collected can last for up to three months during droughts. Hanapi said the system, if used for the long-term by more high-rise buildings, will be able to reduce the treated water usage in the state tremendously. "Penangites will also need to implement other water saving measures to reduce water consumption so that we may not be faced with water shortage problems in future," he added. |
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The Sun Daily 1st Nov 2009: N Park Rain Harvest System
