WE OFTEN hear ministers and government officers blaming Malaysians for wasting a lot of water based on average data tabulated using presumed consumption and population distribution. There may be a small percentage of people wasting water but, generally, that is not the case. When our water faucets and water using machines are not efficient, can we blame the domestic consumers?
Mandatory water efficiency labelling and Minimum Water Efficiency Standard (MWES) can bring down water consumption tremendously and strategically. It is the government’s duty to implement those policies and set MWES at the right value. This is because products that do not pass the MWES level will be banned from the market. Those who waste treated water should be penalised based on a punitive tariff mechanism that must be transparently set.
Total water consumption is basically divided into domestic, industry (including commercial) and agriculture – which is estimated to use 17%, 21% and 62% respectively. However, almost two-thirds of treated water is consumed by the domestic sector. This is mainly because many industries and agricultural activities draw water directly from nature for their use. At the moment, there is no measure or directive to ensure industries and the agriculture sector are water efficient. That is why Malaysia has failed to manage its water resources effectively since the beginning.
Usage optimisation
Water use in industrial processes, commercial usage as well as agricultural activities can be optimised by identifying wastages and wrong practices. For example, the dripping method allows water to focus only in roots of plants to optimise water needs. Measuring water usage at each stage of a manufacturing process will assist in determining sectoral water usage that can help to minimise possible wastage. Issues scuh as overflowing can be identified easily and managed. In the services sector, water efficiency faucets are vital to ensure service quality is maintained while meeting customers’ requirements.
Water reuse
Wastewater from certain processes may have potential to be used directly or with basic treatment or filtration. For basic treatment, a simple cost benefit analysis can be done to see the life cycle cost of introducing addition steps in a manufacturing process. For the services sector, complications will only arise if edible components, hygiene and health-related usage are involved. Identification of each water usage zone’s or process’ water use specifications will assist in planning for a reuse.
Water recycling
For sectors or operation components that do not need chlorinated treated water, water recycling is a good mechanism to minimise water usage. This method needs the wastewater to be treated to a better quality water input back into the process and the capital expenditure is higher than the water reuse method. If a company can reach a water recycling step they can already develop its own water balance to indicate water input, sectoral use and wastewater output in a “gate-to-gate” method.
Substitution
There are entities that rely on substitution to treated water use by using a rainwater harvesting system or other treated effluent inputs. This does reduce need for treated water but in terms of water footprint calculation, such entities still do not reduce their water footprints as the reduction is substituted by an alternative water resource. Business entities must be careful when they use the substitution method as it will not reduce the water footprint directly.
Government’s role
The government needs to enact a law to mandate efficient water use for both treated and raw water. This law can be implemented under Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara by extending its roles and responsibilities to encompass the new law’s requirements that will include raw water usage. We will like to reiterate that there will be no need to form an agency for this implementation. The following solutions are immediate steps that can be considered:
(i) Set priorities in catering to water demand;
(ii) Categorising all water using sectors by business type;
(iii) Identifying water intensive sectors;
(iv) Developing good practice guidelines and mandatory rules to minimise water usage;
(v) Establishing sectoral solutions to assist small and medium industries and enterprises; and
(vi) Enacting “Efficient Use of Water Act” to derive rules and regulations to better manage holistic water demand and water efficiency practices as well as having the enforcement power.
Awer hopes that the government will be able to see the true picture of the water usage in Malaysia and move swiftly to ensure that water security in Malaysia is achieved. The potential impact of climate change on water is high and it will impact raw water availability and disrupts economic activities. Optimising high water users’ water usage will also assist in managing non-point source pollution as well as make more raw water available for other use.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
This article was contributed by Piarapakaran S, president of the Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer), a non-government organisation involved in research and development in the fields of water, energy and environment.
Source: The Sun Daily
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