Environmental issue-conserving water

Call for water conservation in Penang in anticipation of dry spell
08 Feb 2007Lee Keng Fatt GEORGE TOWN, THU.:

The State government has called on people here to stop wasting water in anticipation of a long dry spell.Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said although the three dams in the State have enough water supply to last at least three months, it is still necessary for the people to conserve water."The situation is alright at the moment and people would still have sufficient water supply even if it does not rain for the next three months."However, that does not mean we should simply waste water," he said after receiving donations from various government agencies and the private sector for the Johor flood victims yesterday.The three dams in Penang are the Mengkuang dam on the mainland, Air Itam and Teluk Bahang dams.In the absence of rainfall, the Air Itam dam can store water for 91 days while the Mengkuang dam's supply can last for 164 days.The Teluk Bahang dam, meanwhile, can be used to supply water for 240 days when there is no rainfall.Koh said although the Air Itam dam storage could last only 91 days, the system was inter-connected and the supply area from Air Itam could be reached from other sources.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Thursday/NewsBreak/20070208141958/Article/index_html


Respond: I agree that we should conserve water during long dry spell. We can conserve water by using what we need and not exploiting and using it excessively. There might not be enough water during dry spell, where rainfall is less, if everyone uses water extravagantly. We, sometimes take water for granted. This reflects that some of us think that clean water is unlimited till there is a lack of it. Thus we must conserve water and use it appropriately.

Since we know that water is a source of life of all living organism, we should try our best and think of ways to use less amount of water. We must learn to change our attitude and behavior. Conserve water both indoors in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room and outdoors. For example, turning off the faucet while brushing teeth or shaving,taking short showers rather than long showers or baths and turning the water off while soaping
From the government point of view Malaysian should conserve water. The amount of water they have is more than enough to last through the long dry spell. Malaysian may not feel the urge of conserving water. The State government should sound more serious and convincing so that citizens feel the urgencies to save water. More usage of water also causes water pollution. Inadvertently, there might be forest fire affecting society which require lots of water or extremely dry and hot season would cause the water to evaporate quickly and people using more water. Especially for the use of agriculture, crop irrigation accounts for 70% of the world's fresh water use. During long dry spell more water is needed in order for crops to survive.

To me saving water is important. To ensure availability for future generations, the withdrawal of fresh water from an ecosystem should not exceed its natural replacement rate. Minimizing human water use helps to preserve fresh water habitats for local wildlife and migrating waterfowl, as well as reducing the need to build new dams and other water diversion infrastructure. I am not experiencing what poor countries are experiencing so I may take water for granted and use it as though it is infinite. I have to understand that clean water is finite and to use it wisely. The state government is trying to tell the local people to save water even though there is plenty of water. This shows that the state government is concern about the future and the welfare of the country.

Do you want your future generations to enjoy clean water? I have a part to play in saving water, and encouraging people to conserve water. I do not know whether people are taking this situation seriously but I am confident that at least people know what is going on. Time and again we are reminded to conserve water. By reminding myself that many poor country do not have clean water makes me feel grateful that I have clean water to drink daily and not to waste it.