The document summarizes the major water crisis that occurred in Selangor, Malaysia in early 2014. It details how dry weather conditions led to water contamination and dropping dam levels in February, forcing the implementation of water rationing across Selangor and parts of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya from late February to April. This affected an estimated 6.7 million residents. While the Selangor government pursued alternative water sources, there was relief when rationing finally ended in April. However, concerns remained about potential health issues from one of the proposed sources.

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MALAY MAIL Wednesday December 3, 2014
REWIND2014
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Water rationing
in Selangor was
imposed on Feb
25, causing
hardship to
many people,
particularly those
living in apartment
units.
THE Selangor water crisis started
in February, caused by hot and
dry seasons in Peninsular Malay-
sia due to the El Nino phenome-
non. It was the worst water crisis
in the state since 1998.
On Feb 7, ammonia contamina-
tion shut down two water treat-
ment plants in Selangor, prompt-
ing water cuts in parts of state.
The five dams in the state suffered
a substantial drop in water levels.
Water rationing imposed in the
state started on Feb 25.
On Feb 26, the Selangor Water
Restructuring MOU was signed
between the Federal government
and the state government, intend-
ed to bring an end to the impasse
between the two parties to take
over Selangor’s water concession-
aires.
The MOU was not made public
but it was understood the key
point was to ensure that Selangor
implements the RM3 billion Lan-
gat 2 project as soon as possible.
But PNSB, Syabas and SPLASH
rejected the state’s offer, demand-
ing higher payouts.
On Feb 28, SPAN announced
water rationing for six districts
in Putrajaya, Selangor and Kuala
Lumpur, with two days of water
supply, followed by two days of
water cuts.
For Phase 1, rationing began
in the Hulu Langat, Sepang and
Kuala Langat districts. Phase 2
rationing was for Kuala Lumpur,
Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Kua-
la Selangor, Hulu Selangor and
Gombak districts and subsequent-
ly Phase 3 on June 25.
On March 29, water rationing
in Selangor, the Federal Territo-
ries of Kuala Lumpur and Putra-
jaya was extended to April 30.
On April 22, menteri besar Tan
Sri Khalid Ibrahim announced
that rationing will continue as the
water level at the Sungai Selangor
Dam was still at a critical level.
Water rationing ended at the
end of April. In total, water ra-
tioning affected up to 6.7 million
residents. To prepare for the im-
minent dry season in the second
half of 2014, Selangor announced
several mitigation projects to aug-
ment raw water resources.
This included using water from
abandoned tin mining ponds
in Bestari Jaya, which sparked
public health concerns due to un-
certainties surrounding levels of
heavy metals in the water.
In total, water
rationing
affected 6.7
million residents
in the Klang
Valley. Although
the Selangor
government
announced several
mitigation projects
to source water
from abandoned
mining ponds,
there was relief
allround when
water rationing
ended in April.
Water crisis
Compiled by Faizal Nor Izham