UTM’S AQUIFER WELL AN INNOVATIVE RESPONSE TO UNEXPECTED WATER SUPPLY DISRUPTION

By Mohamad Syazwan Mustafa

JOHOR BAHRU, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- The Sungai Johor pollution incident last week underscored Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) capability to harness aquifer well technology, providing an alternative water supply for both students and nearby communities.

UTM deputy vice-chancellor (Development) Prof Dr Edy Tonnizam Mohamad said efforts to explore groundwater resources began in 2018 to ensure the campus had a reliable water source during unexpected supply disruptions.

He said the research was led by the UTM Centre of Tropical Geoengineering (GEOTROPIK), in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and industry partners, to identify rock fracture zones containing high-quality groundwater.

He said drilling work, which began in 2021, took about five to six months before a water source was discovered at a depth of 158 metres beneath hard rock.

The development of the well, he said, involved the installation of a pump, basic treatment system, storage tank and pumping system at a cost of around RM200,000 and is capable of producing one million litres of water per day.

According to Edy Tonnizam, the capacity is sufficient for the daily use of up to 7,000 people for bathing and washing, and for as many as 100,000 individuals a day for drinking and cooking.

He said the technology proved its significance when UTM mobilised the resource to assist students and campus residents affected by water supply disruptions following the Sungai Johor pollution last week.

“In the event of a major water disruption, the only available source is this aquifer. We channel the water to the main tank and distribute it via tanker trucks to students and campus residents,” he said.

Elaborating, Edy Tonnizam said there is only a one to two per cent chance of developing an aquifer well in another location, as its success depends on the presence of specific rock fractures and suitable geological formations.

“It’s not that the deeper we drill, the more water we find; rather, the deeper we go, the less water there often is. The research involves not just science but also imagination to locate the fractures,” he said.

Edy Tonnizam added that maintenance costs are minimal because the good quality of the raw water requires only basic filtration, costing less than one to two sen per cubic metre.

He said the development of rock aquifer wells is in line with UTM’s long-term vision to strengthen the security of its water resources and support nearby communities in times of crisis.

Meanwhile, UTM Student Representative Council president Muhammad Hazim Azatul Amery said water distribution to campus residents is carried out using tanker trucks rented from private companies to handle the large volume required.

He said water was supplied to seven residential colleges on campus, while this week’s classes were conducted online to minimise the impact of the water disruption on students.

A total of 455,757 account holders, or nearly 1.8 million residents in Johor, were affected by the pollution that occurred last Friday.

The contamination was caused by a breached sand-washing pond at a land-based sand mining site in Kota Tinggi, forcing the temporary suspension of operations at four water treatment plants.

-- BERNAMA