1. NEED FOR EFFICIENT WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND ITS
IMPACT ON WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
By
Ir. Dr. Hasnul Mohamad Salleh1
Keywords: Non-revenue Water, Water Crisis, Water Demand, Water Infrastructures, Water
Resources Management, Water Safety Plan, Water Stress, Water Tariff
Abstract
With the trend of increasing water demand due to population and economic growths, it has lead to water
stress and water crisis situation such as over-exploitation of available water resources and conflicts
between the countries fighting over the control of water resources and reduced landscape capacity of
water retention. This situation could be alleviated with efficient water infrastructures and advancement of
the technology. Water infrastructures are defined as facilities provided / installed to store, deliver, treat,
supply of water to the users as well as for subsequent collection, removal, treatment and disposal of
sewage and industrial wastewater. The predominant approach adopted currently to solve the water
resources and demand equation is supply-driven i.e. by developing new sources to meet the additional
demand. A holistic approach, i.e. water resources management shall be adopted in handling the critical
equation of available water resources and water demand. The water resources management requires
three pillars, namely policies, institutions and infrastructures to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency.
Policies serve as framework to harvest, manage and improve water resources, improve water services
and promote business. With sound policies and water infrastructures in place, a proper institutional set-up
is required and crucial to the effective implementation of water resource and infrastructures
management. The hierarchy for a proper institution framework should include policy, governance,
administrative, regulatory and operation level. Water infrastructures include facilities built to store,
deliver surface and ground water sources for municipal, industrial, agriculture and household needs
which include dams, pipelines, water treatment plant, storage reservoir, and wastewater collection and
treatment facilities. Water infrastructure in the form of dams and reservoirs are required to regulate
supply and to serve as storage of rainwater in wet periods for use in dry periods. Water supply
infrastructure which is one of the sectors consuming the available water resources is also facing the
problem of ageing, inefficient and inadequate to meet the expectation due to limited funding or not
sustainable business model. Developing of sustainable water and waste water infrastructures is the way
forward to manage the available water resources and demand equation. The objective of the
sustainability water resources management will only be achieved via committed involvement and close
cooperation between all stakeholders concerned which include the government, regulators,
administrators, water infrastructures operator and non government organization. In view of the high
water consumption by domestic users due to cheap water tariff, an equitable tariff is required and
necessary to ensure the whole water industry is sustainable.
1 Director General, Water Supply Department, KeTTHA
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1.0 Introduction
Water is essential for the survival of human and is also very important vector
for all types of development. With the trend of increasing water demand due
to population and economic growths, particularly in the developing countries
coupled with the finite available water resources in this planet, it has lead to
water stress and water crisis in many part of the world. However, this doomed
situation could be alleviated with efficient water infrastructures and
advancement of the technology.
Water infrastructures should be defined as facilities provided / installed to
store, deliver, treat, supply of water to the users as well as for subsequent
collection, removal, treatment and disposal of sewage and industrial
wastewater. It basically provides the organizing structure and support for the
system it servers.
2.0 Current Constraints with Available Water Resources and the Trend of
Increasing Demand – A Critical Equation
Based on data from the United Nation, there is a trend for people to move
from the rural area to urban area to look for a better living standard. It is
estimated that up to 55% of the Asia population would live in urban area by
year 2030 against 37% in year 2000, this phenomenon would definitely create
a localized stress to the water supply system due to imbalance of the
available water resources and water demand. This scenario has lead to
several water related problem such as over-exploitation of available water
resources and sometime resulting in the conflicts between the countries
fighting over the control of water resources, reduced landscape capacity of
water retention which increases the vulnerability to extreme floods and long
lasting droughts and deteriorated water resources quality.
The predominant approach adopted currently to solve the water resources
and demand equation is supply-driven i.e. by developing new sources to meet

3. the additional demand. This approach is unsustainable and it has caused
overuse of available resources, wastage and expensive water supply scheme.
Available
Water
Resources
Water
Demand
Figure 2.0 : Diagram of Available Water Resources and Water Demand
In order to accommodate the ever increasing population, some of the forested
water catchment area has been opened up haphazardly in the name of
development, be it for agriculture, infrastructures, factories, housing etc..
Rapid developments of landscape often result with physical modification of
the habitats which has degraded the ability of the ecosystem to purify the
water naturally. Due to lack of environmental conscious, the water courses
are being polluted by industrial, agriculture and households. These factors
have caused loss and degradation of the water resources.
3.0 Roles of Three Pillars in Water Resources Management
The traditional supply-driven approach in solving the water demand has
brought about countless crisis in many countries caused by erratic weather,
thus, a paradigm shift whereby a holistic approach, i.e. water resources
management shall be adopted in handling the critical equation of available
water resources and water demand. The water resources management
requires three pillars, namely policies, institutions and infrastructures to
ensure its effectiveness and efficiency.
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up
up

4. Sustainable Water
Resources
Management
Policies
Institutions
Infrastructures
Figure 3.0 : Sustainable Water Resources Management Diagram
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3.1 Policies
Policies serve as framework to harvest, manage and improve water
resources, improve water services and promote business that provides
the basis for implementing a water resource management system that
is financially and physically sustainable. The policies should be holistic
rather than focused on sectorial development of this vital resource by
individual stakeholder, instead, it shall take into account of the full
water cycle from the point of water extraction up to the water being
discharged into the existing water sources when harvesting the water
resources. A standard or guideline shall be established take into
consideration the needs from all vectors such as potable water
requirements, industrial water consumption, irrigation requirements,
flood control and hydropower requirements.
Sustainability of the water resources could be achieved with policies
emphasize on water demand management, water quality controls,
conversation and protection of water catchment area, inter-basin
transfer scheme, control of point and non-point sources of pollution into
water course, licensing of water abstraction to curb excessive and
uncontrolled exploitation of water resources, and gazettment of
potential dam sites for irrigation and potable water consumptions.

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3.2 Institutions
With sound policies and water infrastructures in place, a proper
institutional set-up is required and crucial to the effective
implementation of water resource and infrastructures management.
The hierarchy for a proper institution framework should include :-
• Policy level
There must be a political will to implement policies which
promote sustainable water resources management.
• Governance level
Government body (Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment for Malaysia scenario) responsible for drafting and
improving the policies on the management of water resources
shall be formed.
• Administrative level
Government agencies entrusted for the administration and
implementation of the policies (such as the Department of
Mineral and Geosciences on the ground water extraction in
Malaysia scenario).
• Regulatory level
A statutory body entrusted to regulate the implementation of
government policies. In Malaysia context, SPAN is responsible
to set the regulations regarding potable water quality, tariff,
expansion of the water supply infrastructures and non-revenue
water on potable water operators.

6. Page 6/16
• Operation level
A water infrastructure operator, be it government or private
guided by the prevailing policies responsible to operate the
water infrastructures (such as Syarikat Air Johor, for the State of
Johor, Malaysia). Mechanism which promotes the efficiency and
penalties on the ineffectiveness shall be imposed on the
operator to ensure the goals set in the water resources
management could be achieved.
3.3 Infrastructures
Generally, water infrastructures include facilities built to store, deliver
surface and ground water sources for municipal, industrial, agriculture
and household needs which include dams, pipelines, water treatment
plant, storage reservoir, and wastewater collection and treatment
facilities.
It is a fact that the precipitation in most of the area in this planet is not
evenly distributed over the year. In some extreme case certain part of
the country may fall under the monsoon climate which cause the flood
but on the other part of the country is under the prolonged dry season
which may cause temporary water shortages. As an engineering
solution to overcome this problem, water infrastructure in the form of
dams and reservoirs to regulate supply and to serve as storage of
rainwater in wet periods for use in dry periods. These infrastructures
are required to ensure the sustainability of water resources and to
overcome scarcity primarily for water supply and irrigation water
demand, and at the same time, they could be utilized for flood control.
In many part of the world, the quality of the water resources has
deteriorated due to contamination by discharges of domestic, municipal
and industrial wastes, often without proper treatment and often

7. exceeding the natural abilities of the water bodies to accommodate
them. Proper infrastructures for sanitation purposes involve reticulation
and treatment of domestic sewerage and silage are necessary and
important to ensure the sustainability of the water resources. The
treated effluent could be used for agriculture and industrial application,
In water-deficient country like Singapore, the sewage effluent has been
harvested and recharged in the public water supply system.
In the holistic water management strategy, goals shall not only be
focused on the potable water supply and sanitation systems only, it
shall cover a broader water infrastructure sectors which include flood
control, industrial and commercial water supply and treatment,
hydropower and irrigation needs.
In addition, water infrastructures need to take into consideration the
requirements to natural ability of aquatic ecosystems to cope with
drought and floods, the requirement of downstream users as well as to
accommodate the pollution loads that are received by the river system.
4.0 Challenges with Existing Water Supply Infrastructures – Inefficient,
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Ageing and Inadequate
The water resources are finite and constantly under stress from population
growth, inefficient distribution due to inefficient water infrastructures, ageing,
pollution and climate change.
Water supply infrastructure which is one of the sectors consuming the
available water resources is also facing the problem of ageing, inefficient and
inadequate to meet the expectation due to limited funding or not sustainable
business model.
The lifespan of the dam has been shorten due to logging and excessive land
clearing at the catchment area existing. These activities also caused silted

8. river bed and change of river alignment which has attributed to the reduced
extraction capacity of the raw water intake.
The deteriorated water source due to land clearing and industrial pollution
have created problem to some of the water treatment plants whereby the
design are not capable to cope with these scenario. As the consequences,
the affected river sources is either be abandoned or the water treatment plant
be upgraded by adding the advanced treatment such as membrane which
requires high capital outlay and would definitely increase the financial burden
the water operator. In addition, the water operators also found that operating
cost of the water treatment plant is higher in tandem with the higher chemical
dosage to treat the highly polluted water sources. The situation is further
compounded by higher residual produced and cost of disposal the residual as
the consequences of higher chemical dosage.
The operating cost of the water treatment plant is generally tied to the
efficiency of the plant, which is governed by the consumption of electricity,
chemical and filter backwash water apart from plant operating personnel.
Except for plant operators where the cost is fix, the other parameters are
varies and to certain extent it depends on the competency of the plant
operator. A competent operator who understands the treatment process well
and possesses technical knowhow to handle abnormalities of raw water
would be able to operate the plant effectively, and keep the plant running cost
at the optimum level. However, this aspect which is crucial for the survival of
the water operating company is always been neglected due to limited fund
been allocated in the training of the operating personnel.
The water supply industry in Malaysia is facing problem of high non-revenue
water (NRW) in the range of 25% - 60% due to physical and commercial
losses caused by ageing infrastructures. The physical loss could be attributed
by leaking in the ageing pipelines and reservoirs. This situation is
compounded by not having proper records on water assets which hamper
attempt to reduce the non revenue water.
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9. In the demand driven approach, the limited financial sources are spent
unwisely on source and treatment works which require high initial capital
outlay and as the consequences, the maintenance of the ageing water
infrastructures has been neglected and the water supply network could not be
upgraded or expended fully to serve the ever increasing demand.
In the attempt to reduce the NRW due to pipe leakage in the distribution
system, traditional approach by purely pipe replacement without pressure
management is still being adopted. The operator also facing difficulty to
manage the pressure in District Metering Zones established due to limited
financial resources and technical knowhow.
High Operating
Figure 4.0 : Flow Chart of Challenges of Water Supply Infrastructures
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Pollution of
Water
Resources
Challenges Of
Water Supply
Infrastructures
Limited
Financial
Resources
Ageing
Infrastructure
Increasing
Water Demand
Cost
Less Revenue
and
Inefficient
Infrastructure
Inadequate
Infrastructures
Declining
Service Level
High NRW
Less
Coverage

10. 5.0 Developing A Sustainable Water and Wastewater Infrastructures in
Malaysia - How Can the Stakeholders Contribute
Developing of sustainable water and waste water infrastructures is the way
forward to manage the available water resources and demand equation.
Environmentally sustainable development in water and wastewater, and
efficient utilization of the water resources shall be persuaded in addressing
the various needs for water supply. Continuous and concerted effort from all
stakeholders is crucial to attain the sustainability and growth of the water
infrastructures to a large extent depend on the following:
• Political will on the water policies at all levels.
• Provision of adequate funding to expand, maintain and manage the
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water infrastructures.
• Continuous development of adequate human resources to keep up
with the latest technology to manage the water resources.
• Community and non-government participation to create awareness on
the importance of sustainable water resources and their roles in
conversing water.
The objective of the sustainability water resources management will only be
achieved via committed involvement and close cooperation between all
stakeholders concerned which include the government, regulators,
administrators, water infrastructures operator and non government
organization.
5.1 Roles of the Government
One of the issues that need to be urgently addressed is the high water
consumption by domestic users due to cheap water tariff. In Malaysia’s
context, the estimated metered average water usage in year 2005
varies from 265 ℓ / capita / day in Pulau Pinang state to 335 ℓ / capita /
day in Selangor state against the acceptable value of 200 ℓ / capita /

11. day. It is generally accepted that cheap water tariff (RM0.22/m³ for first
20m³ in Pulau Pinang) is countered productive to water conversion.
Even though the pricing of the water tariff is a sensitive issue which
may influence the outcome of the general election, the government
shall have a political will to find the best mechanism to ensure the poor
could afford the potable water yet the tariff does not encourage over
usage and wastage. The successiveness of water demand
management, to large extent, is depended on water tariff. An equitable
water tariff will discourage over usage of this precious natural resource.
In addition, high water tariff will also encourage heavy water usage
consumers such as factory to recycle the water.
It is widely accepted that providing proper water and sanitation is the
social responsibility of the government. Water infrastructures such as
dam and water treatment plant involve very high initial capital outlay
and take a long payback period where commercially may not be viable
should it be purely rely on equitable water tariff. Thus, the government
shall consider giving financial assistance in the form of low interest
loan or financial grant to the water infrastructures operator to make the
business viable. In the Malaysia context, Water Asset Management
Berhad has been established by the Federal Government to fund the
capital cost for building the new or refurnishing the water
infrastructures. As the available fund for development is always limited,
the government shall maximize its value by prioritizing the investment
on projects required least capital but the benefit or effect is
comparatively high such as replacing aging system and upgrading of
the infrastructures. Emphasis on the utilization of innovation green
solution shall be the way forward in the development of new water
infrastructure and shall be included as part of the government policies
to promote the healthy ecosystem and sustainable industry.
Education plays a vital part on the successiveness of the sustainable
water resources management. The government may consider
incorporating into school syllabus related subject on environmental
protection and water conversion so that these philosophies of life could
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12. instil into pupils mind-set. As to enhance the awareness of the public
on this subject, the government with the cooperation of other
stakeholders, shall carry out information campaigns and activities
related to sustainable water resources management regularly.
As a step to reinforce the water demand management and as a tool to
reduce the water consumption, the government may compel the users
to install water saving device such as dual toilet flushing system.
Incentive shall also be considered to encourage public to install
rainwater harvesting system where the water could be used for flushing
and watering the plant.
It is a known fact the users of public sewage system are not willing to
pay for the sewage bills which cause the operator facing huge financial
stress to upkeep the system. In order to alleviate the situation, the
government shall consider other mechanism, such as combining the
water and sewage into one bill, as being considered in Malaysia to
make the operation of sewage system more viable in the long run.
Rapid land clearing has been cited as one of the reasons that cause
the water quality being deteriorated, river yield been reduced and one
of the culprit causing the erratic climate as the way forward to
safeguard the water quality. The government shall enact relevant laws
and carry out enforcement prohibiting excessive development within
the water catchment area which serves as potential future water
source; Laws and regulations on restrictions and / or treatment of
effluence into the catchment area shall also been in place to control the
pollution in the catchment area.
Due to uneven pace of development in a country, the Federal
Government and State Government, despite of political difference, if
any, shall work together to embark on inter-basin or inter-state transfer
scheme to transfer water from water rich to water scarce area.
However, such scheme normally involves high initial capital outlays, as
an alternative, the federal / state government may consider to give
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13. incentives in the form of extra financial grant to local governments to
integrate the available water resources and water supply in the land
use planning. To ensure there is equitable distribution of the precious
water resources required for the various sector, i.e. water supply,
irrigation, recreation and other water based industries, It is also
important that a regulatory body responsible on this subject be
established. The Government of Malaysia, via the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment has embarked on National Water
Resources Study at 10 years interval to assess and update the
available water resources and water demand from different sections in
the country.
In view of the traditional available water sources from river and
groundwater are becoming scarce, the government shall look for
alternative water such as brackish water as in the case of Labuan,
Malaysia and re-use of the treated sewage effluence as in the case of
Singapore to meet the water demand.
5.2 Roles of the Regulators and Administrators
Regulators and Administrators are organization entrusted by the
government with the responsibility to implement, regulate and enforce
laws and regulations related to water resources management.
The effective implementation of the government’s policies and
regulations on the usage of water resources will contribute to the
realization of a sustainable water resources management. The
government shall strengthen the enforcement by allocating sufficient
fund to the regulators and administrators to recruit sufficient manpower
and to conduct regulate training on the personnel to equip themselves
with the development.
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14. As to keep up with the advancement of the technology and
urbanisation, the regulators shall update the published guidelines and
regulation which may not be suitable for the current scenario.
High Non-Revenue Water (NRW) in the potable water supply system
has caused unnecessary water resources being wasted and caused
unnecessary financial cost to the system. The regulator such as
Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) in Malaysia has played
the role of setting the targeted NRW to be achieved by the water
supply operator to encourage efficiency and ensure the sustainability of
water industry. It also plays the role of ensuring an equitable water
tariff which is sufficient to cover for the expansion, operation,
maintenance and maintaining the water infrastructures, yet is
affordable to the public.
5.3 Roles of Water Operator
The available water resources is finite and the water operator shall
conserve the existing water resources by not over exploiting to the
extent which is detrimental to the aquatic ecosystems and shall have
the good infrastructures to use the water efficiently. Proper equipment
such as ground water level monitoring device would ensure ground
water yield is not exceeded; and on-line dam draw-off monitoring
system would avoid excessive draw-off.
As one of the strategies to sustainable water resources management,
the water infrastructures operator shall emphasize on implementation
of comprehensive non-revenue water reduction programme which
includes asset management, distribution pressure and reservoirs
overflow control, pipe leakage detection and pipe replacement works
before embarking on new source works development.
It was reported that water treatment plants have to be closed
occasionally or permanently due to deteriorated raw water quality
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15. caused by pollution whereby the conventional technology is no longer
sufficient to deal with this scenario. To address this issue effectively,
the water operator shall search for new ideas and technologies which
is able to handle the possible variables and uncertainty in the future
such as climate change and deterioration of raw water quality. The
same principle shall apply to the sewage and waste water operators to
ensure the treated effluence is of high quality which is suitable for
recycle and re-use purposes.
One of the issues facing by the water infrastructures operator is
inefficient operation, which resulted in high operation cost and
unnecessary losses. This problem may be caused by lacking of
information on the system and / or incompetent operating personnel.
To arrest this issue, the operator shall strengthen their asset
management, human resources capacity and conducting regular
training to the staff to keep up with the technologies and development
in the industry. One of the training which is urgently required and
recommended to be carried out is Water Safety Plan which shall
include the following :
• Identify and discuss risks and hazards in the system and provide
response plan to control or mitigate the risks and hazards.
• Method to monitor raw and treated water quality.
• Implement migration measures within the allocated budget.
5.4 Roles of the Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
NGOs are generally made up of individuals include professionals as
well as ordinary citizens. NGO shall assist the government to create
awareness on conservation of the environment. NGO such as Malaysia
Nature Society has highlighted the importance to conserve the
environment through workshops, campaigns and partnership with the
media.
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16. Water tariff in most of the developing countries does not promote a
sustainable water industry and it is a politically sensitive issue. The
NGO shall assist the government to convince the public that an
equitable water tariff, where price hike from time to time is required and
necessary to ensure the whole water industry is sustainable. On the
other hand, the water operator shall convince the NGOs and the public
that their water infrastructures are operating efficiently to justify the
tariff hike.
The author would like to thank Kohilavaani Skumaran for her invaluable assistance during the writting
of this paper.
For further information on this paper and permission to use material contained in this paper, request
could be made via http://www.jba.gov.my. ALL COPY RIGHT IS PROTECTED. Content of this paper
protected under copy right shall not be reprinted or used in whatsoever form without written consent
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