NAWABS PROVIDES FASTER DROUGHT FORECASTS, ALLOWS BETTER MITIGATION PREPARATION

SHAH ALAM, May 10 (Bernama) -- The National Water Balance Management System (Nawabs) allows for drought forecasts to be made two months earlier and drought warnings 14 days earlier.

Selangor Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) director Nasser Salim said the early warning provided by Nawabs allows related agencies to prepare ahead of time and take suitable mitigation efforts to reduce the impact of disasters.

"During crises, priority is given to domestic (users). So we provide the data necessary for the state government to make decisions, is there enough (water supply) or not. That is what we help with,” he told the media during a recent interview here, adding that two river basins, Sungai Bernam and Sungai Klang water basins, are included in the system at present.

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In March, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said that there were 19 river basins that will be linked to Nawabs, a water source management system using hydro-meteorological data with hydrology and hydraulic models developed by Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (PETRA) under DID. The system also provides status on water availability, water accounting and water audits.

On water security, Nasser said Selangor has seven dams for storing water to supply domestic, agriculture and industrial use in the state, especially during droughts.

"In Selangor a disaster committee monitors the percentage of water in dams daily and there we will know if there’s a drastic drop, allowing for immediate action to be taken,” he said, adding that the current capacity of dams were adequate, over 78 per cent.

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Nasser also said that the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) also coordinated assistance between state water operators during water supply crises due to natural disasters or unforeseen factors through technical assistance or water supply.

He also said that there were various factors that cause flash floods in Selangor, including rubbish dumped into the drainage system and unplanned opening or change in land.

On the Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) being blamed for flash floods in the state, he said the infrastructure project had obtained approval for its construction and underwent a preparation of a hydraulic and hydrology model study report for suggested drainage systems built at the sits.

"Developers or owners who intend to develop their properties need to submit hydraulic and hydrology model reports on suggested drainage systems to be built at the sit while monitoring and maintenance of the drainage system at the project are needs to be done by the developer themselves,” he said, adding that the Selangor DID would provide technical comments on the suggested drainage system based on the report of the study submitted.

He also shared that the department would continue to conduct maintenance work for drainage systems under its supervision, and that maintenance was also done by other related agencies according to their job scopes.

-- BERNAMA