Water level at Linggiu Reservoir in Johor falls below 50%: PUB

SINGAPORE — The water level at Johor's Linggiu Reservoir that provides water to Singapore has fallen below 50 per cent, Singapore’s national water agency PUB said on Saturday (Sept 28).

This was due to the ongoing dry weather, PUB said, adding that the reservoir's water level at the start of the year was 72 per cent. The water level at Linggiu Reservoir last dropped below 50 per cent in 2015 to reach a historic low of 20 per cent in 2016.

The agency said that water levels at Linggiu Reservoir have not fully recovered to the healthy level of 80 per cent to 90 per cent, which has been been the case for almost 20 years since it began operations in 1995.

Recovery at Linggiu Reservoir has also been slow, PUB said, due to more water being drawn from Johor River than is sustainable.

“Singapore built the Linggiu Reservoir at a cost of more than S$300 million to enable reliable abstraction of water at PUB’s Johor River Waterworks (JRWW)," the agency said in a media release.

"However, Malaysia has built water plants upstream of the JRWW, which have further added to the abstraction of water from the Johor River.

"This challenging situation is exacerbated during dry weather, as PUB needs to discharge more water from Linggiu Reservoir to support water abstraction.

“In the event of a prolonged drought, a depleted Linggiu Reservoir will compromise Singapore’s right to abstract our full 250 million gallons per day (mgd) entitlement of water under the 1962 Water Agreement.”

Under the 1962 agreement, which lasts until 2061, Singapore has full and exclusive right to draw up to 250 million gallons of water daily from the Johor River at the price of 3 sen per 1,000 gallons.

PUB SUPPLYING MORE WATER TO JOHOR

Singapore is also required to supply Johor with 5 mgd of treated water under the agreement. But in practice, the Republic has been supplying 16 mgd of treated water to Johor at the state's request, PUB said.

On Saturday, PUB revealed that from Sept 23 to Sept 27, it has been supplying an additional 6 mgd of treated water, on top of the 16 mgd that it already supplies. This is upon Johor's request, as the state had seen a disruption in production at its water plant in Skudai, PUB said.

"Johor made similar requests this year in January and August. Last year, Singapore supplied additional water in excess of the usual 16 mgd for 20 days," PUB said.

The water agency added that it has supplied all the additional treated water above 5 mgd on a “goodwill basis” at the same price as under the 1962 agreement of 50 sen per 1,000 gallons — a fraction of the cost of treating the water.

“This has been done without prejudice to our rights under the 1962 Water Agreement,” it said.

The agency added: “As mentioned by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat in April 2019, both countries have an interest to work together to ensure a sustainable water supply for both sides.

"This includes the identification of appropriate and timely measures, including schemes, to increase the yield of the Johor River."

Singapore has and will experience more extreme weather patterns because of climate change, and prolonged dry spells will affect the country's water stocks, PUB warned.

"To ensure a resilient supply of water for all Singaporeans, PUB has planned ahead and invested heavily over the past few decades to develop our four national taps," the agency said.

"Likewise, Singapore must continue to plan and implement the infrastructure needed to meet the present and future challenges of climate change."

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said in a Facebook post that he hopes both countries work together to increase the yield of Johor River, and "ensure a sustainable water supply" for the people of Singapore and Malaysia. CNA

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