Overview of Groundwater

Resources in Malaysia

Mohammed Hatta Abd Karim

JMG

Groundwater

an important

source of

water

for domestic,

industrial and

agricultural

needs

Present water supply - inadequate or even unavailable due to several factors:

• rapid increase in demand due to population

growth• industrial or agricultural expansion• deteriorating quality of surface sources, and• low flow of surface source during prolonged

droughts

Durian Tunggal dam at Melaka - 1991

invisible…'out-of-sight' …'out-of-mind‘

Usage

surface water have been exploitedgroundwater systems relatively untouched'

previous dry spells - groundwater provided 'life-saving' rescue for the people esp.in Melaka, Selangor and Sarawak

To date only 3 % of the supply use groundwater (60% domestic, 35% for industrial and 5% for

agricultural use)

Kelantan use groundwater > 70% for public water supply

Why lack of gw development

failure to recognise the potential

misconception of groundwater

lack of full assessment of the resource

lack of strategic and action plans

Water Resources in Malaysia(after JICA ,1982)

Water resources Quantity (billion m3)

Annual rainfall 990 Surface runoff (566)Evapotranspiration (360)Groundwater recharge (64)Surface artificial storage 25Groundwater storage 5000

Groundwater Potential JMG has expertise and experience

presently the most active agency in groundwater exploration and development

About 3500 wells drilled in Malaysia

five main types of aquifers:

aquifers in shallow alluvium

aquifers in deep alluvium

aquifers in deep hard rocks

aquifers in peat and

aquifers in island

The needs

Explore potential groundwater by basinal approach, to get actual reserve and safe yield of the basin

Explore potential groundwater from the hard rock aquifers

Explore potential groundwater source from requested areas/needs and subsequently developed for use

Peninsular Malaysia Development started since the early 1900’s

in Kelantan

To date about 0.2 million m3/d exploited

4 categories of potential:1. The most productive aquifers are the alluvium (sand

and gravel), yield from 50 to 100 m3/h/well

2. The most productive aquifer in hard rock is in limestone, yield up to 50 m3/h/well. Sinkhole may occur in developed areas

3. Fractured sandstone, their metamorphic equivalent and volcanic rock aquifers can yield up to 30m3/h/well

4. The least productive type of aquifer is made up of fractured igneous rocks, yield 20 m3/h/well.

Sarawak

First recorded abstraction by tube wells in 1954 in Sarikei followed by similar schemes in Bintangor and Sri Aman

Groundwater is main source of water supply in several coastal villages such as Belawai, lgan, Oya, Kabong, Pulau Bruit, Tatau, Limbang and several other new schemes under development

JMG Sarawak has developed groundwater resources by the seventies, 13 areas of well fields for reticulated water supplies in the coastal region of Sarawak

A large groundwater scheme in Lambir has been developed to augment the Miri Water Supply. During the water crisis in 1997, groundwater has become the new source of water supply when the Sg. Liku was greatly reduced

3 categories of aquifers in Sarawak:

shallow aquifers (sand, gravel and peat),

deep aquifers in sedimentary basins and

deep aquifers in fractured hard rocks

To date, about 0.05 million m3/d of groundwater is being exploited in Sarawak

Sabah

Coastal villagers have been digging shallow wells

for years and the small-scale tube well

abstraction in Sandakan, Kota Belud and Kuala

Penyu

In Labuan, groundwater is being used

conjunctively with surface water to supply the

water needs on the island

The most productive aquifer is the Sandakan

Formation (thick-bedded sandstone)

Similar to Belait Formation in Labuan and the

Crocker Formation which are extensively faulted

and fractured form a good groundwater potential.

• Quaternary and Recent alluvium which cover

the coastal areas gives small but sufficient

yield to the isolated villages

• JMG started to explore the hard rock areas in

recent years

• About 0.02 million m3/d of groundwater is

being exploited in the Sabah state

Issues

Misconception about groundwater

Assessment methodology

Water Budget and recharge estimation

Technology of groundwater development

Demand from agricultural sector

Groundwater quality, protection and

management

Groundwater databank

Sustainability of groundwater resources

Surface water-groundwater interaction

Institutional Arrangement

Misconception about

groundwater

Limited resource

Unreliable

Polluted

Difficult to extract

Expansive to develop

Difficult to maintain

Give negative impact to environment if

developed

Assessment methodology

Assessment of aquifer by adhoc study of demanded sites

Patchy studies of alluvial aquifers and ‘wild cat’ for hard rock aquifers

Generally need a proper basin study

Need thorough study of aquifers penetrating at different depth (shallow alluvial aquifer < 30 m, deep alluvial aquifer > 30 m)

Hard rock aquifer should be investigated using remote sensing analysis and geophysics (<100 m and >100 m drilling depth)

Other new techniques including GIS, geostatistics and isotope tracer techniques are needed to assess recharge, groundwater flow patterns and interaction with surface water system etc

Water budget/ Recharge

estimation

Previous work - concentrate on well to well basis

Study of water balance is a prerequisite to study the region/basin thoroughly

Need to know the recharge and discharge areas

Recharge estimation is not emphasised

much in previous studies

It is necessary for sustainable groundwater basin management

Technology of groundwater

development

Wells and associated structures such as

vertical, horizontal, large diameter,

dug/culvert wells and subsurface dam

are commonly constructed in Malaysia.

Newer technology such as artificial

aquifer /temporary catchment, collector

drain and gallery should be considered

Demand from agricultural

sector

The agricultural sector has been revived by the government to be another important sector to boost our economy. Thus there will be a lot of stress on the water needs in this industry

JMG can be the driving force in dealing with the additional water that is needed for this sector. By implementing extensive study of the resource, we will be able to reduce some of the problems in the agricultural sector

Groundwater quality protection

and management

There are a number of artificial sources of potential groundwater contamination such as sanitary landfill, septic tank, wastewater, toxic chemical disposal site, agricultural chemicals and Underground Storage Tank (UST)

One critical aspects of preventing groundwater pollution is the identification of recharge area for the aquifer. In such, protection of the recharge area is vital

Groundwater Databank

JMG has created HYDAT for the last 20 years

and now being converted to HIDRODAT

The only challenge is to gather as much as

possible good quality data that is available –

to analyse the groundwater resource

meaningfully and produce thematic maps

Sustainability of groundwater

resources

Groundwater proposed withdrawal should respond to changes in groundwater levels and quality to an acceptable level - not to jeopardize the environment in general

Common regulations and actions for sustainable exploitation are being undertaken such as collection of comprehensive groundwater data, and other related activities-identification of sources of pollution

Setting water quality standard, control of extraction, establishment of protected areas and enforcement of standards and regulations are still being looked into

Surface water-groundwater

interaction

The importance of groundwater and

surface water as a single resource has

become more prominent now

This conjunctive use of water has been

discussed and proposed for some time

already in Malaysia

However, it is still in infancy stage

Institutional Arrangement

Groundwater explorations, development

and management – JMG, SWB/SWA,

KKM,KP,KKLW, NAHRIM (R&D), private

sectors

Groundwater pollution control – JAS, JMG

Existing legislation –

the Geological Survey Act (1974),

the State Water Supply Enactments, and the Environmental Quality Act (1974).

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE

MANAGEMENT OF

GROUNDWATER RESOURCES

Minerals and Geoscience Division of the

Ministry of Natural Resources and

Environment has initiated the preparation of

the Strategic Plan for the Management of

Groundwater Resources.

6 Strategic Plans adopted

Strategic Plan (SP1)

Legal Augmentation and Enforcement -

to reinforce laws related to the management

of groundwater including the Geological

Survey Act (1974) and to ensure all states

create and enforce the groundwater

management aspects in the State Water

Enactments.

SP 2

Assessment and Development of

Resources - to encourage the groundwater

exploration in the alluvium and hard rock

areas in systematic and continuous manner.

With the available data collected, database

and hydrogeological thematic maps can be

developed for use in the development plan

for groundwater exploitation in an efficient

manner.

SP 3

Monitoring of Groundwater – to encourage the groundwater monitoring activities for the purpose of evaluating the quantity, quality, the extent of contaminated groundwater and land subsidence. Groundwater protection zone has to be established to avoid contamination and sterilization of aquifers.

SP 4

Capacity Building - to do capacity building

for manpower to all agencies through

training, purchasing of new equipments and

usage of latest technology. This will improve

their skill, expertise and knowledge in the

development and management of

groundwater.

SP 5

Promotion and Awareness - to increase

the promotional activities among the

authorities to the potential of groundwater as

an additional water source. Awareness

campaign to all users to focus on the steps

to be taken to avoid contamination and

excess abstraction of groundwater.

SP 6

Research and Development – to increase activities of Research and Development to identify effective methods for the development and management of groundwater. Also to do smart partnership among research institutions and universities in aspects of groundwater development and management.

ACTION PLAN

This is what we are going to do

today……

CONCLUSIONS Groundwater plays an important role in

supplementing the domestic, industrial and agricultural water needs of the country

contribution and potential value of groundwater have not fully recognised, and not enough efforts have been made to promote its proper exploitation, management and conservation

Issues ranging from misconception, assessment, databank, sustainability and Institutional Arrangement still exist

Strategic Planning have been formulated and a need to prepare ACTION PLAN