KUCHING: A long-term solution to the water woes in Sarawak would be the usage of reservoirs of hydro electric power (HEP) dams as water sources.

Water pollution and/or salty water from rivers are hard to control but the control of water from dams can be assured.

Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said he was thinking outside the box in solving the water issue and therefore came out with a long-term solution.

Sarawak has so many dams which can definitely be sources of water for the people, he said.

He mentioned the reservoir of Bakun HEP dam to solve the murky tap water in Belaga, salty water in Tanjung Manis and the Batang Ai HEP dam to solve salty water-linked problem in Sebuyau, for instance.

The Baleh and  Murum dams would be used to solve water woes in the northern region, he added.

“All we need is grid piping system. We have dams and so we will make use of them. We have to think outside the box.

“Pollution and salt in rivers are hard to control but water quality from these dams can be controlled.”

Abang Johari told the press this after opening the new Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Satok Division headquarters in Jalan Kulas on Wednesday.

The chief minister also made similar comment at a press conference after closing the Kaul Festival in Mukah on April 30.

He said the state cabinet had agreed to appoint a consultant to do an overall study on the matter. The idea is to pump water from the reservoirs of these HEP dams – in Batang Ai, Bakun, Baleh and Murum – to the water treatment plants.