JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A spell of hot weather with no rainfall for the past two weeks has caused the water level at the Machap dam to dip to a critical stage and disrupted supply to almost 150,000 consumers in three Johor areas.

Ranhill SAJ, which is involved in water treatment and distribution of treated water, will implement water rationing for one month.

It is estimated that 149,550 consumers from 29,910 accounts around Simpang Renggam, Layang-Layang and northern Pontian will be affected from Monday (Sept 2) until Oct 2.

To ensure optimum clean water supply despite the limited resources, Ranhill SAJ will arrange for water supply to be provided for 36 hours.

Besides the Machap dam, Malaysia's National Water Services Commission, SPAN, pointed out that three other dams in Johor were also at critical levels - Lebam, Upper Layang and Pulai.

"However, water supply in the affected areas is still regulated through the pumping of raw water from the Seluyut dam for the Lebam Dam and Upper Layang Dam and the Pontian Kecil Dam for the Pulai 2 dam," it said.

In the statement, SPAN also said that it would continue to monitor the water level at major water supply dams across the country and submit reports to the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry.

On Sunday, the Johor government initiated rationing after low levels at the Machap dam affected raw water supply to the Simpang Renggam Water Treatment Plant (LRA).

Johor International Trade, Investment and Utilities Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said the Simpang Renggam LRA provided supply to households in Simpang Renggam, Layang-Layang and northern Pontian.

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For more information on specific locations and the supply schedule, check the Ranhill SAJ website. Information can also be found on its Facebook page at "Ranhillsaj Setitis YANG Bermakna".