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 GOOD water management in Penang has had a long and interesting history since Sir Francis Light first commissioned the development of the first simple water supply and distribution system in the Settlement of Penang Island in 1804. “It was the first of its kind in the country and was able to cater for the need of the 10,000 odd population on the Island...
“Water was sourced from the waterfall in the Penang Botanic Garden and supplied via a long brick aqueduct to the town. Earthenware pipes were laid through the streets as distribution pipes to the individual houses.” Read here. The reservoir of the Penang Waterfall was constructed in the gardens in 1892 by British engineer J MacRitchie. It was reconstructed in 1950.
Interestingly, the waterfall was an important source of water for ships calling at Penang port in the early part of the 19th century. “In 1805, an aquaduct was erected to channel water for the fall via Pulau Tikus to a reservoir near Leith Street Ghaut and Hutton Lane respectively. The quality of the water, filtered through the aged rocks of Penang Hill, was very high, and was described by the early sailors as 'sweet'.”(Penang Travel Tips)
Read below for other important milestones of the water authority through the last 120 years: - 1892 - The Waterfall Reservoir, the first reservoir in Penang Island, was constructed and completed in 1894. Another reservoir in Air Itam was built in 1914 for the same purpose.Â
- 1900 - Universal water metering system was introduced in Penang. View photo gallery below.
- 1919 - A Water Department within the George Town City Council was established, headed by a Municipal Water Engineer, J D Fettes. In the 1920s, a notable achievement by the department was the development of water resources on the north side of the island, where a 7km pipeline was built inside a tunnel. A 600mm diameter pipeline brought water from the streams of the Batu Ferringhi Valley to a service reservoir in Tanjung Bungah, known as Guillemard Reservoir.
- 1929 - Penang's first water treatment plant at Air Itam commenced its operations.
- 1962 - Penang's first dam, the Air Itam Dam, was officially opened.
- 1973 - Pihak Berkuasa Air Pulau Pinang (PBA), a state statutory authority, was established. The role of authority was to supply treated water within Penang (both the island and the mainland).
- 1999 - PBA was corporatised into Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP), a private limited company established under the Companies Act 1965, and wholly owned by the state government through its investment arm, State Secetary Penang.
- 2001 - PBAPP became a wholly-owned subsidiary of PBA Holdings Bhd (PBAHB).Â
- 2002 - PBAHB was listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia (Malaysian bourse) to facilitate equity participation by the public, water consumers and employees.
(Source: History of Water Supply in Penang, PBAPP)
Recently, Penang announced that the state has the highest consumption of water per person in the country (285 litres per person a day) that could be due to the tariff of 31 sen per cubic metre, the lowest compared with the other states. In order to compel Penangites to reduce excessive water consumption, the state has considered a few steps: - A forced rationing of piped water supply. Read here
- Incentives for those who save water. Read here
- Penalty for those who waste water. Read here
A point to note also is the the state's water body has been touted as providing a level of service that is “unprecedented in the country” which has resulted in Penang's non-revenue water (NRW) being “one of the lowest in the world,” (Penang Economic Monthly, Preview Issue). Penang's NRW stood at 16.9 per cent in 2007. A very proud record indeed.Â
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Click through pictures for slideshow.
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