KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Aug 2008: The government has no plans to formulate any policy or act to make the use of rainwater mandatory, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew said, however, that the government was preparing guidelines on the implementation of the Rainwater Collection and Reuse System to encourage the use of rainwater in new development areas.
Among projects that had successfully implemented the system were the One Utama shopping complex and a housing project in Sandakan, Sabah, he said in reply to Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan).
The system was implemented in these two projects at the initiative of the developer and building owner and was in line with the guidelines provided by the ministry earlier, he said.
The government did not make the installation of rainwater collection system mandatory because of the high cost.
Lau said the ministry had taken steps to encourage people to save water by asking the local authorities and toilet pump manufactures to encourage the installation of the dual flush or single flush system that used not more than six litres of water per flush.
It also encouraged the local authorities to use water-saving devices like automatic taps fitted with sensors in public toilets. – Bernama
