By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, Oct 20 — The Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) has proactively reduced the water capacity at its seven dams to prepare for the coming northeast monsoon season, expected to bring about heavy downpours and potential floods.
State executive councillor for infrastructure Izham Hashim said the optimal release of water aims to ensure sufficient space in all the dams in the event of heavy precipitation.
The initiative, implemented from mid-August to the end of the year, also aims to avoid water overflow, which could potentially flood nearby downstream areas.
Via the strategy, the water capacity at all dams under Luas’ management will be reduced to 90 per cent, except for the facility in Klang Gates, which will be reduced to 85 per cent.
This is after Luas revealed a five per cent increase in the Klang Gates Dam’s capacity following a heavy downpour on Wednesday (October 18) after monitoring the seven facilities under the Integrated Water Resources Management System.
“However, no overflow was reported, thanks to the sufficient space to accommodate the unusual rainfall at the time,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Izham said the dam water release was done in stages and closely monitored by Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) to ensure no untoward incidents.
“It factored in the river water level trend and the weather forecast for the next seven days by the Meteorological Department.
“As such, no release will be done if the rivers’ water levels show an increasing trend or if there is heavy rainfall in downstream areas,” he said.
Members of the public looking for further updates on the status of the dams’ capacity may visit IWRIMS’ website at https://iwrims.luas.gov.my or DID’s https://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my.
