Reservoir better than building dam, says Sabah expert
Geologist Felix Tongkul says a direct water intake reservoir is a cheaper and more practical solution than a RM3 billion dam in Papar.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has no need to borrow billions of ringgit to build a dam when a direct water intake reservoir is a cheaper and more practical solution, a geologist said.
Felix Tongkul said the cost will only be a fraction of the RM3 billion price tag to build a dam in Papar and that it will not destroy the biodiversity surrounding its area.
“It will only cost the government perhaps tens of millions. We can do direct intake of water and store it in a reservoir on higher ground. But, of course, if the government wants a new concept, they can do it on low ground.
“Take the Telibong water intake project, for instance. It’s a good concept done by the Water Department. They take water from the Tuaran River and transport it there. It’s a simple technology which we don’t need to import,” he said in a presentation on the proposed Papar Dam here on Tuesday.
Tongkul was one of the presenters at the “Inclusive Dialogue between Stakeholders on Infrastructure Development in Sabah for the 12th Malaysia Plan” organised by the Sabah Institute for Development Studies.
A proposed dam project at Kaiduan, Papar, 36km from Kota Kinabalu, was initially shelved in 2015 after opposition from Sabah indigenous and environmental groups.
But the project has been resurrected under the present Warisan-led government to ensure ample water supply for the growing population in Sabah’s west coast areas over the next 30 years.
The project was initially identified as the Kaiduan Dam but renamed the Papar Dam hydroelectric project by the present Sabah government and will cost an estimated RM3 billion to build.
Its proposed location is in Mondoringin in a remote location in Ulu Papar, the state’s largest water catchment area, that spans across the Penampang and Papar districts.
Sabah Infrastructure Development Minister Peter Anthony recently said the state government may borrow from Putrajaya to build the dam or consider a private-public venture to raise the funds.
Tongkul said a reservoir will not affect the natural biodiversity and heritage in Ulu Papar and will keep the natural flow of the Papar River.
He said that if the flow of water in the river is impeded by a dam, it will not only disrupt the natural balance of the area, causing the loss of natural heritage and destruction of crops, but will result in soil erosion, a biologically dead river, and salt water intrusion.
Ultimately, he said, a dam can cause induced micro earthquakes as a result of extra water pressure, which will not only be harmful to plants but also to the nearby population.
“Base on my assessment, there are too much natural resources and heritage to sacrifice if we build a dam. Why do we need to sacrifice all these?
“I’m not against a dam in general, but it is not the right place or location because you can put it somewhere else.
“There is no need to build a dam in Ulu Papar given that the amount of rainfall in the area is among the highest in the state with over 3,000mm a year,” he said.
Tongkul said dams are best built in areas where rainfall is lowest, such as in Kudat district in the northern region of Sabah.
Furthermore, dams have shelf life, with the most up to 50 years, he said, adding that the worst thing the government can do is to build more dams when another round of water supply shortage happens.
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Tongkul said the government can also generate electricity near reservoirs such as building photovoltaic facilities to harness solar power to produce electricity as opposed to hydroelectric dams.