The state Drainage and Irrigation Department, which managed the Bukit Merah Dam, said the water level there has dropped but is not cause for alarm. — Bernama pic

IPOH, Aug 17 — Perak has sufficient water supply in three dams to meet consumer, commercial, agricultural and industrial needs, two state authorities said today amid the current hot spell.

The Air Kuning Dam in Taiping is currently at the 42.14-metre mark while the level at Sultan Azlan Shah Dam in Ipoh is at 244.88 metres. The maximum water level for the Taiping dam is 42.52 metres while it is 245 metres for Sultan Azlan Shah.

Perak Water Board general manager Datuk Mohd Yusof Mohd Isa gave an assurance that consumers will have sufficient supply of water as the rivers are still flowing even though rainfall has not been recorded at the two dams on the last two weeks.

The state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), which managed the Bukit Merah Dam, said the water level there has dropped but is not cause for alarm.

“The water level currently stands at 7.86 metres whereas the dam has a maximum capacity of 8.68 metres,” the Perak DID chief Ahmad Anuar Othman said.

He said the DID would only cut off supply to farms if the dam falls to the seven-metre mark.

Lower rainfall has been forecast for several states this month. The dry spell has affected not only Perak but the states along the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak too.

The Meteorological Department attributed the hot weather to the current southwest monsoon season.