We had a four-day water disruption not long ago. The public, including my husband and I, were duly informed and advised to store water for the duration. We were instructed to check online, using our home address and postcode, whether we would be affected by the disruption. I did the latter and accordingly, didn’t the former.

That was until the afternoon prior to D-day (disruption day). My husband called to say the management office at our condominium confirmed that there would be a long water disruption and had put up notices on certain do’s and don’ts for residents. He said people were taking the disruption announcement seriously as there was actually a run on plastic containers. Luckily, he had managed to buy the last two red pails from a nearby shop.

I was still a little skeptical about the water stoppage because the online check did not include our address in the list of affected areas. Nevertheless, I decided to be sensible rather than sorry, just in case. I walked around our home looking for possible containers that could serve as vessels. Fortunately, there were six storage boxes in our pantry, where we keep our warm clothes and sundry stuff, which fitted the bill. Water storage crisis averted.

Next job. I filled up the boxes with water. It was then that I thought about the value of water. And, even then, I realized the appreciation was more the inconvenience of not having running water at my disposal. To wash my hands when I wanted to. To shower in the mornings and evenings. To flush the toilet when I had to go. To boil the kettle to have a cup of hot drink. To wash my plates after meals. I also made a mental note not to eat out in cafés and restaurants for the four days, just in case. Without running water, how and where would chefs and servers clean the ingredients and cook, and more importantly, wash their hands, after using the toilets – which would also have no running water?

As I filled up more water, I reflected on my history with water. I cannot remember, at least not in my lifetime, not having access to running water. There have been periods of water disruption and rationing for various reasons over the years. Amongst them – improvements, repairs and maintenance works at water treatment plants, burst pipes and long drawn periods of draught. And naturally, there have been voices of complaints. Water disruptions affect us all – the general populace, homes, schools, parks, animals, businesses and government.

I pay my water bills regularly so I should be entitled to running water. Nevertheless, I felt fortunate. Fortunate to live in Malaysia where we get loads of rain. Malaysia’s yearly average rainfall is 3,000 mm. This amounts to an estimated annual water resource of some 900 billion cubic metres. To put it in context, 3,000 mm is three metres or almost 10ft of rainfall, which then flows into 189 river basins in the country[1]. It sounds like a lot of water and it probably is.

Despite this, there are increasingly real concerns about the water situation in Malaysia. According to WWF-Malaysia, about 97% of our raw water supply for agricultural, domestic and industrial needs come from surface water sources primarily rivers. All our rivers originate and flow from the highlands. Now, the highland forests and wetlands that make-up the key freshwater ecosystems in the country face numerous threats and challenges. AsiaWater Today (Water resources in Malaysia – Challenges and Opportunities) reported that the water quality of our rivers and lakes has deteriorated due to an increase in pollution. And, logging activities, landfills, land encroachment and destruction of forests have led to the degradation of water catchments. As many water catchments in Malaysia have yet to be gazetted and protected, they are exposed to negative environmental impacts that could make our water resources unusable and unsustainable.  

We are also a nation of water wasters.  Apparently, local domestic users consumed an average of 210 litres per person daily in 2013, above the United Nations’ recommendation of between 50 and 100 litres of water per person daily[2]. Is our less than casual attitude towards water a result of Malaysia having amongst the lowest water tariffs in the world at 52 sen per cubic metre[3]? I don’t know. What I do know is we, you and I, need to use water like we did when we had the recent water disruption – with care – as if every drop stored in our plastic pails and storage boxes is precious because it is.