A water management department specially for Kuala Lumpur will be set up under the Water Bill which is expected to be tabled in Parliament in March 2017.

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the department would function as an independent body to manage water supply for the consumption of households and industries in and around the federal capital.

Up to now, we depend entirely on water resources from Selangor and city dwellers often face water supply disruptions due to delays in the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant Project.

We do not want to depend on any entity outside Kuala Lumpur and want to fully manage our own water resources,” he said after a groundbreaking ceremony for the RM2.4 billion Water Storage Controlling System (WSCS) pilot project here, yesterday.

He said the Bill is currently being scrutinised and would be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water.

Tengku Adnan said WSCS is the first digital water solution system introduced by ASI Air Simpanan Sdn Bhd to improve water quality and ensure the continuity and sustainability of water resources in the capital in the long term.

“Once the Water Bill is approved, we will sign a 25-year contract with ASI Air Reserve Sdn Bhd to enable the company to become the concessionaire to manage the project.”

ASI Air Simpanan Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Wan Abdul Halim Abdul Majid said WSCS would use tube wells to store rainwater and natural water as well as filtering the water through a membrane system.

He said the first phase of the project, to be completed by end of 2018, would see the construction of 20 tube wells with a capacity of more than 14 million cubic metres of water per day at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.

The WSCS project is targeting 1,200 tube wells in 30 locations around Kuala Lumpur in 10 years, he added.