Through ongoing monitoring of dams and water treatment plants (WTP) across the country, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) is bolstering its readiness to deal with the Super El Nino phenomenon that is predicted to occur in November in order to guarantee the supply of water to consumers.
Sulaiman Kamisan, chairman of the SPAN Emergency and Risk Preparedness Committee (JKKR), stated that in order to evaluate the state of raw water sources, his organisation and affiliated agencies also made working visits to a number of dams in Kedah and Perlis.
He stated, “We want to make sure that water supply sources are adequate and mitigation measures have been planned in advance to face the possibility of drought,” he told reporters after conducting a working visit by SPAN JKKR at the Timah Tasoh Dam on 31st July 2026.
According to Sulaiman, the monitoring results showed that all related agencies, including the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) and water supply operators, had taken early steps and were prepared to implement their respective action plans if the drought worsened.
Meanwhile, he stated that Perlis is one of the states receiving attention due to the critical water level at Timah Tasoh Dam.
He stated that, based on the briefing provided by the DID and Syarikat Air Perlis (SAP), the two agencies are preparing a variety of mitigation measures, including the installation of temporary pumps to pump water to the intake area, dredging clogged drains, and other actions to ensure that the water treatment plant’s operation is not disrupted.
“We hope that the rain that usually occurs around September to October can help increase the water level of this dam to a safer level. However, if all mitigation measures have been taken but the rain still does not fall, the possibility of implementing Scheduled Water Supply (BAB) or water rationing will have to be considered as a last resort,” he said.
Meanwhile, SPAN announced in a statement accompanying the working visit that as of 30th July 2026, 35 of the 43 dams monitored nationwide were at normal levels, while four dams (alert level), two dams (warning level), and two others were at critical levels, namely the Timah Tasoh Dam in Perlis and the Lebam Dam in Johor.
Furthermore, SPAN reported that all 117 major WTPs in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan were operational and capable of meeting domestic and non-domestic water supply demand.
SPAN also expects the country’s water supply to remain sufficient until the end of this year. However, monitoring and emergency action plans will continue to be implemented if the Super El Nino phenomenon affects supply operations.
