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GEORGE TOWN: Eight planned cloud seeding operations for the Teluk Bahang Dam water catchment areas have been delayed, Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBA) said today.
PBA Chief Executive Jaseni Maidinsa said the first round of operations to be carried out by a private contractor was originally scheduled for implementation in late August.
“However, on August 24, the private contractor informed Badan Kawal Selia Air (BKSA) that cloud seeding operations could not be carried out as scheduled.
“The reason stated by the private contractor is that it has not received the ‘flares’ necessary for the cloud seeding operations,” he told reporters at the Teluk Bahang dam here today.
The flares, he said, were chemicals that would help improve the cloud’s ability to produce rain.
Jaseni urged the BKSA to contact the Malaysian Meteorological Department to accelerate the implementation of the first series of cloud seeding operations that can hopefully be carried out in September.
Sungai Pinang catchment basin emergency water diversion
He also said that PBA would launch a contingency raw water project to refill the Teluk Bahang dam next month, where it would divert raw water from the Sungai Pinang water catchment area near the Titi Kerawang waterfall to the dam.
“This project will allow the Teluk Bahang dam to exploit two raw water resources, namely the Teluk Bahang water catchment area and the Sungai Pinang water catchment area, which is about 8.6 km apart by highway”.
He said the project was another component of PBA’s overall plan to defend the low effective capacity of the Teluk Bahang dam until the rainy season arrives.
“As of August 28, the effective capacity of the Teluk Bahang Dam was 16.4%, enough for 51 days of supply without rain,” he said.
