Three reclamation projects have been earmarked for the state — one each in Bayan Baru and George Town on the island and Mak Mandin on the mainland.
The proposed water reclamation initiative is part of an effort to minimise the incidence of water shortages in the future and to ease the pressure on natural water resources, the CEO of IWK, Narendran Maniam, said today.
This is also another step towards achieving the national target of raising the supply of recycled water to 300 million litres per day (MLD).
The company signed a memorandum of understanding for the project with the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) here today.
Maniam said similar projects are also planned in other states such as Selangor, Melaka and Johor as an alternative water source.
“This will help to preserve the nation’s natural water resources and enhance the practice of the circular economy,” he added.
This will not be the first time that IWK works on water reclamation projects with state water supply authorities. It developed a similar project with Air Selangor in Setia Alam in 2021.
The reclamation plant in Setia Alam now supplies to the industrial area in its vicinity.
In Melaka, IWK is working with Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd (SAMB) on a project to supply seven million litres of water daily to the industrial areas in the state. It said suitable water catchment areas and capacities have already been identified.
Maniam said the potential for reclaiming water from the sewage system is also immense.
He said it would reduce the amount of clean water needed in the production process, such as washing, diluting and cooling that has to come from natural resources.
“We want to maximise the option to reuse water to ensure that our clean water sources are not put under too much stress just to serve the needs of industries,” Maniam added.
The water reclamation project is part of the company’s waste-to-wealth initiative. It looks at alternatives such as reusing treated effluent.
The target, under the Green Technology Master Plan 2017 — 2030, is to have treated effluent make up at least 33% of water used in the country by 2030.