KUALA LUMPUR (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – Starting February 1, Malaysians will experience a rise in the cost of drinking water, a measure taken by the government to generate funds for the construction of new water-treatment facilities and the repair of leaky pipes.
This adjustment will impact 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia, along with the three federal territories.
According to a statement released on January 17 by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), a federal agency, domestic households can expect a modest average increase of MYR3 per month in their water bills.
Additionally, SPAN encourages water-supply operators in the affected states to offer rebates for households with lower incomes.
Water-related matters, such as the oversight of reservoirs, rivers, and water-treatment plants, are typically managed independently by each of the 13 state governments.
Furthermore, the states have varying water tariffs. Notably, Sabah and Sarawak states are exempt from the tariff hike scheduled for February 1.
“A big chunk of the problem is ageing equipment, ageing infrastructure, lack of maintenance and the financial viability of operators,” SPAN chairman Charles Santiago told The Straits Times on January 12.
“What we need to do is pump more money into infrastructure development, and take the issue of the water industry seriously.”
He added that the federal government should commit to spending MYR10 billion every year to upgrade the water infrastructure for three or four years. “After that, you will have a certain level of assurance and security,” he said.
Potable water is sold at different prices in the various Malaysian states, with the average tariff charged to households at MYR1.43 per cubic metre (m) on December 31, 2022.
The new water tariff is estimated to be higher by MYR0.22 per cubic m, or at an average of MYR1.65 per cubic m.
“The adjustment of domestic water tariffs starting February 1 in the peninsula and Labuan involves an average increase of MYR0.22 per cubic m,” said SPAN, adding that the rates will be reviewed every three years.
Some states have not reviewed their water tariffs for 40 years, as public complaints often spike when higher water rates are announced.
But SPAN said it could no longer delay the tariff hike in order “to ensure long-term sustainability of the water-supply industry”, while underlining that even the tariff increase will not cover the actual cost – at MYR1.75 per cubic m in 2022 – of providing water.
In response to the announcement, the Penang government said on January 17 that consumers in the northern state will have to pay double from February 1, with a new tariff of MY0.50 for every cubic m for the first 20 cubic m, compared with the current MYR0.22.
Negeri Sembilan said state consumers who use up to 20 cubic m of water per month would from February 1 be charged MYR0.71 a cubic m, from MYR0.55 now.
SPAN and another federal agency, the Water Asset Management Company, are tasked with overseeing the state water operators in Peninsular Malaysia and the federal territories, and the maintenance and construction of water infrastructure.
The intervention by the federal agencies was to partly alleviate the perennial shortage of funds in state governments to maintain or build new water-treatment plants, enlarge reservoirs or repair thousands of kilometres of ageing underground pipes.
Malaysia’s Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said in November that almost all water-supply companies were operating at a loss.
According to Span, some pipelines date back to the British colonial era. Peninsular Malaysia has about 39,000 km of asbestos cement water pipes, some of which urgently need replacing.
More than a third – 37 per cent – of water in the country is what is billed as non-revenue water: potable water pumped out from treatment plants that leaked into the ground or was stolen.
And some 90 out of 340 water-treatment plants are operating beyond their capacity.
Further, about 85 per cent of Malaysia’s water supply comes from rivers, with Santiago saying the country needs to move towards reclaimed water.
Water consumption is high in Malaysia, at an average of 230 litres per capita a day, compared with 160 litres in Singapore, he noted.
“That’s because it’s cheap. The motivation for wastage is very high,” he said.
