Rainwater Harvest

The Facts

Blue as it seen from above, this planet is cover with 70% of water but only 3% from it is fresh water. Discounted another 2% of the fresh water reserved as ice on Artic and Antarctica so we have only left 1% fresh water in this blue blue planet.

A shape of potatoes on the left and a puppy on the right, this is how Malaysia display on the world maps. With the total land size of 329,847km² it is showering with total of 990 billion m³ of rain each year of which 566 billon m³ becomes surface runoff, 360 billion m³ evaporated back to the atmosphere while 64 billion m³ discharges as ground water.  Malaysia has the mean annual rainfall of 2,300mm and potential evaporation average about 1,500mm.

As notable as potatoes ingredient in many of the ethnic’s cuisines, Malaysia is a cultural melting pot whereby 50.4% are Malay, 23.7% are Chinese, 11% are indigenous, 7.1% are Indian and 7.8% others. As of 2010 census, we have 28,334.135 populations harmonious living under one roof.

With the ever evolving lifestyle our water consumption pattern has risen in tandem as a result. Water is inseparable from our daily life, from get ourselves hydrated, wash our body, clean our house and car, water the garden, filling up swimming pool, to cooling power station and manufacture products of all sorts. Population is growing but available fresh water is finite so the need to address clean water shortage is pressing now.

Currently, the annual total consumptive use of water is estimated to total 10,400 million KL (kilo litre) for irrigation and 4,900 million KL for domestic and industrial use. On average Malaysian consume 266 litre of water per person per day. Ironically our neighbor Singapore uses only 57.8% (154 litre/ person/ day) of what we lavishly consume despite the facts that we were once the same country that shared the same culture and family traits some 40 years back. Interestingly, if Singapore claims to be smart in water consumption then the country that celebrate Songkra, water festival, is somehow cleverer. They managed to use only 90 litre!

*[Total water withdrawal per capita] = [Total water withdrawal (summed by withdrawn for agricultural, industrial and municipal purposes)] / [Total population]

So what’s wrong with Malaysian? In March 2011, then the Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said that “70% of Malaysian use waters more than they should”. So what give us the right to abuse this precious natural resource? Just because it’s unreasonably cheap doesn’t means we can spend it as though it’s infinite. The fact that government is subsidy heavily on water supply and the source of the finance is pulling back from us via tax.

Ranking	States	Water Utilization Per Capital Per Day (liter)
1	Pulau Pinang	266
2	Kedah	232
3	Melaka	225
4	Perlis	215
5	Perak	213
6	Labuan	202
7	Negeri Sembilan	202
8	Selangor	194
9	Johor	191
10	Terengganu	180
11	Pahang	165
12	Sarawak	145
13	Kelantan	109
14	Sabah	77

Penangites being top of the list for water utilization per capital and according to Dr Chan Ngai Weng, a geography professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia, In 2009, the states government have to fork out RM43.8 million to subsidy domestic consumers while trade/industrial consumers suck up another RM740, 000 indirect funds, amounting to grand total of RM 44.56 million. This is an unnecessary burden to the government and the sum would be better to offset for more beneficial development in the states if Penangites learn to use water rationally.

Although we are blessed with sufficient clean water so far but we should not forget our population is growing so as our utilization per capital. Presume that we have constant precipitation rate inflow from above at 2300mm and population growth at the rate of 1.542% (as of 2012) then utilization per capital will be the variables to determine when the clean water supply will meet its threshold (Break-even-point to sustain demand for clean water). Therefore, before nature meets its limit, we have to formulate ways to sustain our population within the limit. It’s less likely that our government will copy the one child policy like the Chinese do in China. Even though our population growth rate does seem to decline from 2.01% in 200 to 1.5% but population size nevertheless are enlarging.

No, we are not going to follow how Penangites crazy about their water (although they do cook delicious food) but neither do we possible to imitate friendly Sabahan 100% as water consumption varies, depending very much on lifestyle. However, what we can do is to salvage more than 30% of the domestic water that do not require treated quality water which means to say if we can harvest that 30% of the water from alternate source such as rain water, not only we can lighten government subsidy and getting the ridiculous affordable water tariff lower, we can extend our judgment day before nature has its calling.

Look, I’m not trying to scare any of you here but try going without water a day. How about 2days? Your urine color will show your report card. 3days and I probably won’t be able to see you again!

The Law

Praise to Malaysia government, installation of rainwater harvest system is made mandatory effectively June 2013. The effort to gazette installation of rainwater harvest by insert it into Uniform Building By-Law 1984 (UBBL- A Malaysia Building code) as one of its latest amendment, is a noble one. However, it’s way too early to claim any milestone yet.

The effectiveness of requirements make into legal framework lay on the hand of law enforcer and judiciary’s integrity.

The chronology events of Malaysia Government in effort to push Rainwater Harvest through are as enumerated below;

ª       1998               -Malaysia experience draught incident where water was rationed and many had to       do without it.

ª       1999               -the Ministry of Housing and Local Government has introduced a guideline on rainwater harvesting in 1999 but it generally passed by without notice.

ª       2004               -National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) under the arm of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment conducted research on rainwater harvest.

ª       2006               -Town of Country Planning and Development has formulated the National Urbanization Policy (NUP) emphasized rainwater harvest. The policy was put under the purview of Ministry of Technology, Water &Communication (KTAK) which effect hardly sighted.

ª       2006               -Prime Minister announced rainwater harvest would be made mandatory on large building such as factory, school or bungalow.

ª       2012               -State government of Johor, Kelantan, Perak, and Selangor gazette rainwater harvest in UBBL early 2012.

ª       2013               - 7 years later since the announcement, unexpectedly rainwater harvest made its way into UBBL as mandatory requirement nationwide. Look like our government has passed its memory test after all!

The latest UBBL requires newly built detached building as well as bungalow and semi-detached with roof area of 100sqm and above to incorporate rainwater harvest features.

Malaysia is not the first country legalized rainwater harvest. Country like India that are living in the clean water shortage problem now has make it into their legal framework earlier, in hope of reverse the negative condition. Conditioned by the economy perspective, I belief Malaysia make the move to expedite the introduction of rainwater, by order, is understandable. Unlike in country like Germany, Japan, UEA& Australia, the cost of water is relatively expensive and with the carrots, such as subsidy on rainwater harvest installation and tax rebate, dangling around it make more sense for all stakeholders to automatically choose to harvest rainwater without actually need to use the stick (bylaw), though I know Australia did.

Malaysian is friendly people and not only are we friendly we are very compromising too even sometime to the extent we barely recognizing our bylaw. In comparison to others nearby ASEAN countries (except for our departed flesh, Singapore) Malaysia still consider negligibly brighter in the chamber of law but to emerge as a developed country in 2020, we seriously need to look how white paper being gazette didn’t go to waste.

So how well does Malaysian respect our law? Just look at the Standard Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA)(Schedule G and H of the HD Regulations 1989). Clause 14 uses the phrase “the building shall be constructed in a good and workmanlike manner.”  Ask any of house owners whether their developer actually conform to the quality of workmanship and materials in SPA? I belief Persekutuan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) has a good statistics on this.

A more obvious example is the recently launch project in Puchong, under the Sepang Municipal Council, the semi-detached home priced at 1.3million does not care about the regulation of providing rainwater harvest. So what now?

The People/ benefactor

Paradoxically, after fourteen years Malaysia government bring the rainwater harvest idea home, 1999, it’s still reported as a new phenomenon in Malaysia today! Does it imply that Malaysian has a remarkably shallow learning curve? Or does it means Malaysians are too pigheaded to stab on new things? It would be very insulting to doubt about Malaysian intelligent but the later verdicts would somehow proof relevant.

In 2009, Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) has installed the rainwater harvest system in its project in Kota Damansara but sadly it’s reported that 60% of the rainwater cistern has been removed to give way for renovation or somehow disappear from the estate. It shows how cute these people can be. Undeniably, the additional water storage eat up space within their premises and some even comments about its ugliness but does anyone aware how rainwater harvest contribute in prolong their existence here and that of their future generation to come?

The mandatory is to be governed from building plan submission approval and inspection upon project realization but hardly extend to when the building actually serves its lifespan. The idea of rainwater harvest has to be rooted deep into the public mind, be it the carrot or stick method; the end consumer is the ultimate decision maker in ensuring the success.

The Industry

Take the “Urban Stormwater Management Manual (MNMS)” for example. It was launched in 2001 to replace the “Standard Approach for Rapid Discharge of Runoff, 1975”.  For a sleepy 12 years, recent surveys indicate that 39% of the construction industry stakeholders including the local government are lack of knowledge, resulting the idea unable to shit out from it bowel. In reality, sample at any project site in Kuala Lumpur you will found that 9 in 10 show no existence of any stormwater management.  

Adoption of rainwater harvest system shape how the contractor formulate in its pricing which then pass it down to consumer via developer. The cost of harvest rainwater in the total building element is around 1% and since harvest rainwater is quite straightforward there is little room for contractor to play around with the figure and profit margin during the tender making pricing strategy stiffer to maneuver. Thus, became less favorable.

Fortunately, many of the Green Building Assessment System such as Green Building Index (GBI) and LEEDS does give credit for rainwater harvest. Building labeled as Green Building increase credit rating and the property worth which bring more reason to adopt rainwater harvest.