GEORGE TOWN: Two main dams in Penang have seen a significant drop in raw water storage, with levels falling below 30% as of Monday.

Penang Water Supply Corporation chief executive officer Datuk K. Pathmanathan said the Air Itam Dam’s effective capacity was at 29.7%, equating to 641 million litres out of a total capacity of 2,159 million litres.

He also said the Teluk Bahang Dam’s effective capacity was at 26.4%, equating to 4,810 million litres out of a maximum capacity of 18,240 million litres.

He added that the rate of reduction in the Air Itam Dam capacity has decreased from an average of 0.82% or 17.61 million litres per day in July to 0.51% or 11 million litres per day in the first 12 days of August.

The Teluk Bahang Dam’s effective capacity, which is 8.45 times that of the Air Itam Dam, has also decreased at a slower rate, from 0.31% or 57.1 million litres per day in July to 0.27% or 48.33 million litres per day in August.

He said recent low rainfall has worsened conditions at the dams.

The Air Itam Dam water catchment areas received just 48mm of rain last month and 36mm in the first 12 days of this month while the Teluk Bahang Dam water catchment areas received 47mm of rain this month, decreasing from 84mm during the same period last year.

He said although the current rainfall is insufficient to increase the effective capacities, it does help to slow down the rate of decrease.

To meet water demand, the corporation releases an average of 22.16 million litres per day from the Air Itam Dam to areas such as Air Itam, Farlim and nearby regions.

In addition, 68.06 million litres per day are released from the Teluk Bahang Dam to supply water to Teluk Bahang, Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah and surrounding areas.

Pathmanathan urged residents in the state to conserve water to help sustain raw water reserves until the next rainy season, Bernama reported.

Commenting on cloud seeding, he said the Disaster Management Agency informed the corporation on Aug 9 that operations would only proceed following advice from the Malaysian Meteorological Department and subject to the availability of Air Force aircraft.

As of Aug 11, rainfall has not been sufficient to improve water storage levels at Penang dams. The Air Itam Dam effective capacity has decreased by 1.2% while the Teluk Bahang Dam effective capacity has fallen by 0.8%.