Cloud seeding as dams dry up in Johor

Source: The Star

Published on 1st May, 2015 by Yee Xiang Yun

Sungai Lebam Dam in Kota Tinggi.

KULAIJAYA: The water level at several dams in Johor have dropped below the critical level, affecting more than 157,000 consumers.

Johor Water Regulatory Body (Bakaj) director Abdul Rashid A. Rahman said the water levels at the Sultan Iskandar dam in Masai, Sungai Lebam dam in Kota Tinggi and Congok dam in Mersing have fallen below their critical levels due to lack of rain from the end of last year.

The Sultan Iskandar dam was at 20.96m, well below the critical mark of 23.5m and can only last for another 72 days. It supplies water to some 140,000 households in the Masai area.

The Sungai Lebam dam had 10.5m of water, below the 12.27m critical level. The Congok dam was at 4.5m, which is its critical level.

In a bid to overcome the problem, the state is now carrying out a series of cloud seeding to increase the water levels at all 15 dams in the state.

Abdul Rashi said that the seeding operations would be carried out over 10 days to increase the water levels by 10% to 30%. The cloud seeding began on Tuesday.

Another long dry spell expected, says climate expert

Source: The Star

Published on 3rd April, 2014 by P. ARUNA, A. RUBAN, IVAN LOH, CHRISTOPHER TAN, VINCENT TAN, and CALVIN TAN

PETALING JAYA: The rainy season has started, but it may not be all good news.

Although the intermonsoon season has begun, an expert says another long dry spell is expected between June and October this year.

Biodiversity and climate expert Faizal Parish also said the current intermonsoon season, which is expected to last until the middle of May, will not see as much rain as in previous years.

“We are likely to get another long, dry period from June until October this year, according to latest predictions by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre in Singapore. We also expect less rain than usual in April,” he said.

“If there is not enough rain over the next two months, water reserves will still be low during the next dry season, with the possibility of another water shortage and more rationing.”

The second dry season, he said, would also bring the annual haze