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UTILITY pipes installed in the drainage system without the approval of the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) were said to have contributed to flash flooding in the capital recently.
Deputy Minister of Federal Territories Datuk Seri Dr. Santhara Kumar said that the drainage capacity had been reduced by up to 40% due to several illegal utility pipes installed within the drainage system.
The deluge of rain that hit Kuala Lumpur caused flash floods in various parts of the city with water levels of up to three meters.
With one of the causes identified, DBKL hopes to solve the problem and prevent it from getting worse by ensuring that construction sites only install pipes in the drainage system with the correct specifications.
However, that alone will not guarantee an end to flash flooding in the capital city. Kuala Lumpur is struggling to cope with the diversion of floodwaters. Widening and deepening our huge monsoon drains to draw flood water out of the city is no longer a viable solution.
If it had not been for the activation of the Highway and Stormwater Management Tunnel (SMART Tunnel) at its maximum capacity, an area of 15ha in the city could have been submerged in the floods.
The Director General of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Datuk Nor Hisham Mohd Ghazali, told a publication that the city was probably overdeveloped and that its drainage system could not handle the flood.
That is where the main problem lies. Global Forest Watch said that Kuala Lumpur lost 11ha of humid primary forest from 2002 to 2019.
The total area of primary moist forest in Kuala Lumpur decreased by 93% in this period, according to the online platform that provides data and tools to monitor forests.
Due to the urban heat island effect, the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area will face abnormal thunderstorms more frequently, flash floods and higher temperatures.
China is looking to create sponge cities that are designed to absorb a large amount of water and disperse it in the environment slowly but effectively. Instead of concrete pavements that don’t allow water to absorb into the ground, they are opting for more permeable surfaces.
In addition to ensuring efficient stormwater management, we could also seek to mitigate the urban heat island effect by reducing heat-trapping asphalt and increasing tree coverage in the city. The two problems of flood management and urban warming must be addressed together.
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