Recommendation

Solutions to solve the water problems especially for Johor, can be made if a few comprehensive
and innovative actions being taken. This must be done consistently and well planned so that
the todays problem can be clear up immediately, and the future complications regarding Johor’s
water management can be tackled as soon as possible. There are a few solutions that might help
to solve the water problems in Johor;

MINOR APPROACH

1) Green roof system

a. A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely
covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing
membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and
drainage and irrigation systems.
b. To construct a green roof, there are some fundamental considerations that
determine the system required to support the planting scheme. The primary
decision is whether the roof is to be a publicly accessed roof garden, recreational
space, podium, or terrace; or whether creating a minimal maintenance simply
vegetated or biodiverse roof.
c. The advantages of green roof system;
i. Green roofs can reduce heating by adding mass and thermal resistance
value, also can reduce the heat island by increasing evapotranspiration.
ii. Reduce stormwater run-off, as the study shows that, water runoff was
reduced by over 75% during rainstorms.
iii. Water is stored by the substrate and then taken up by the plants from
where it is returned to the atmosphere through transpiration and
evaporation.
iv. Green roofs decrease the total amount of runoff and slow the rate of
runoff from the roof. It has been found that they can retain up to 75% of
rainwater, gradually releasing it back into the atmosphere via
condensation and transpiration, while retaining pollutants in their soil.
v. Filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air which helps lower
disease rates such as asthma.
vi. Filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater.
Green roof components
 Example of houses with green roof system.

2) Rainwater harvesting system (roofing)

a. Rainwater Harvesting is a technology to collect, convey and store rain from
relatively clean surfaces such as roof for later use. The water is generally stored
in a rainwater tank. The collected rainfall can be used as a supplementary source
of water supply for households, commercial and industrial premises, landscape
watering, livestock water, and irrigation of agriculture.
b. The value of rainwater as the primary source of clean water is always ignored.
The aim of rainwater harvesting is to concentrate runoff and collect it in a basin
for use. Rainwater harvesting using roof catchments is the easiest and most
common method. Rainwater may also be collected from any impervious
surface, such as stone, concrete, or asphaltic pavement. Landscape can also be
contoured to maximize the catchment areas and runoff for rainwater collection.
c. The advantages of rainwater harvesting system;
i. It provides an alternative water supply to supplement piped water.
ii. It is a green approach. It reduces the dependency of people on pipe water
hence discourage dam construction and deforestation.
iii. It reduces water bills for consumer. Occasionally, there are economic
advantages such as rebates from municipalities for a reduction in use
and dependency on municipal water.
iv. On islands with limited fresh-water, rainwater harvesting is the major
source of water for domestic use.
v. It reduces stormwater flooding and soil erosion.
Rainwater harvesting system

Continuous
guttering

Rainwater
filter

Rainwater
storage tank

House diagram example

3) Porous Permeable Pavement System
a. It is an alternative to paved corners and pavements. Porous pavement system
allowing rainwater to infiltrate and thereby reduce runoff surface and improve
the water quality of the underground. The porous pavement is pavement
containing impermeable structural loading of water. Pavement surfaces porous
is like porous asphalt, porous or modular concrete (clay or block concrete) while
the storage layer of the reservoir consists of crushed stone or gravel which is
used to store water before it infiltrates to the base ground or in the direction pipe
drain system.
b. The pavement itself acts as a pre-reservoir while the rock reservoir beneath the
pavement acts as a treatment. It should consist rather than sandstone / sand
layers directly beneath the absorbable surfaces to slow down stream flow.
c. Permeable pavement is typically designed to treat stormwater that falls on the
actual pavement surface area, but it may also be used to accept run-on from
small adjacent impervious areas, such as impermeable driving lanes or rooftops.
However, careful sediment control is needed for any run-on areas to avoid
clogging of the down-gradient permeable pavement. Permeable pavement has
been used at commercial, institutional, and residential sites in spaces that are
traditionally impervious. Permeable pavement promotes a high degree of runoff
volume reduction and nutrient removal, and it can also reduce the effective
impervious cover of a development site.
d. Types of porous/permeable pavement;
i. Asphalt
ii. Interlocking
iii. Grass turf block

e. The advantages of porous permeable pavement system;

i. Easy installation and low cost.
ii. Durable and sustainable
iii. Can be temporary and can create temporary roads.
iv. Can be used for lawn parking.
v. Eliminates costly drainage systems (reduced need for drainage
infrastructure).
vi. Can be used for erosion control.
vii. Reduction in storm water runoff.
viii. Reduction in pollutants entering waterways.
ix. Recharging of groundwater.
x. Reduced need for irrigation systems.
 Porous permeable pavement components

When rain runs on to the

pavement, it will flow through the
joints between the pavers

Depending on the soil

type, the water will either
drain into the ground or
build up within the stones.

The remaining water will

continue to drain into the ground

Permeable pavers allow stormwater to infiltrate into underlying soils,

promoting pollutant treatment and groundwater recharge
4) A Constructed Wetland
a. A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland created for the purpose of treating
municipal or industrial wastewater, greywater or stormwater runoff. It may also
be created for land reclamation after mining, refineries, or other ecological
disturbances, such as required mitigation for natural areas lost to land
development.
b. Constructed wetlands are engineered systems that use natural functions of
vegetation, soil, and organisms to treat different water streams. Depending on
the type of wastewater that must be treated the system has to be adjusted
accordingly which means that pre- or post-treatments might be necessary.
c. Community treatment facilities with shallow swamp system planted with
growth designed to treat running water and storm water. Wetlands cover various
wet environment, including swamps, muddy soil, wet meadows, and wetlands
(near rivers) which also reduce peak volume and reduce the volume of running
water at a certain level. This wetland can also provide a considerable aesthetic
value and benefits to wildlife. Wetlands which is constructed provides some
amount of small storm water leakage.
d. The system consists of shallow water and plants grown everywhere, are used
for improving sedimentation, fine filtration and biological retrieval processes
for dumping flood water. Water level increases during rain and outlet designed
for slowly releasing flow. The wetlands built are the treatment systems suitable
for residential, municipal, industrial and flood water.
e. The advantages of a constructed wetland;
i. Relatively inexpensive to construct and operate, and easy to maintain.
ii. Constructed wetlands provide effective, reliable and ecologically sound
wastewater treatment.
iii. Can tolerate both great and small volumes of water and varying
contaminant levels.
iv. Wetlands-treated water is clean and can be reused for productive
purposes—in fact the constructed wetland treatment process itself can
incorporate productive uses.
v. Aesthetically pleasing and provide habitat for wildlife and human
enjoyment.
 Types of constructed wetland

Subsurface horizontal flow wetland system

Subsurface vertical flow wetland system

5) Greywater Reuse System
a. Greywater (also spelled graywater, grey water, gray water) or sullage is all
wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without
fecal contamination, i.e. all streams except for the wastewater from toilets.
Sources of greywater include, sinks, showers, baths, clothes washing machines
or dish washers. As greywater contains fewer pathogens than domestic
wastewater, it is generally safer to handle and easier to treat and reuse onsite for
toilet flushing, landscape or crop irrigation, and other non-potable uses.
b. The application of greywater reuse in urban water systems provides substantial
benefits for both the water supply subsystem by reducing the demand for fresh
clean water as well as the wastewater subsystems by reducing the amount of
wastewater required to be conveyed and treated. Treated greywater has many
uses, for example toilet flushing or irrigation.
c. The advantages of greywater reuse system;
i. Reduced freshwater extraction from rivers and aquifers.
ii. Less impact from septic tank and treatment plant infrastructure.
iii. Reduced energy use and chemical pollution from treatment.
iv. Groundwater recharge.
v. Reclamation of nutrients.
vi. Greater quality of surface and ground water when preserved by the
natural purification in the top layers of soil than generated water
treatment processes.

Greywater reuse system

6) Bioretention System
a. Bioretention is the process in which contaminants and sedimentation are
removed from stormwater runoff. Stormwater is collected into the treatment
area which consists of a grass buffer strip, sand bed, ponding area, organic layer
or mulch layer, planting soil, and plants. Runoff passes first over or through a
sand bed, which slows the runoff's velocity, distributes it evenly along the length
of the ponding area, which consists of a surface organic layer and/or
groundcover and the underlying planting soil. The ponding area is graded, its
center depressed. Water is ponded to a depth of 15 cm (5.9 in) and gradually
infiltrates the bioretention area or is evapotranspired. The bioretention area is
graded to divert excess runoff away from itself. Stored water in the bioretention
area planting soil exfiltrates over a period of days into the underlying soils.
b. Bioretention systems have several advantages over sand filters. They:
i. Provide a variety of pollutant removal mechanisms, including filtration,
adsorption to soil particles, and biological uptakes by plants,
ii. Typically provide more treatment due to the multiple removal
mechanisms
iii. Are more aesthetically pleasing than sand filters, besides of efficient
and cost-effective
iv. Can be readily incorporated into green spaces, streetscapes, median
strips, and parking islands
v. Provide stormwater peak flow and volume control as well as water
quality control where stormwater infiltration is used

Bioretention system diagram

MAJOR APPROACH

1) Groundwater harvesting/recharge
a. Groundwater is one of the most valuable resource, it is probably never to be
seen or even been realized it is there. Most of the void spaces in the rocks below
the water table are filled with water. It can be pumped out for a better use, and
filtration of the water would necessary to separate the water from the
contaminant properties in the water, depends on the water condition. There are
a few methods that can be used to harvest the groundwater.

b. Groundwater dams/subsurface dykes

i. Groundwater dams are structures that intercept or obstruct the natural
flow of groundwater and provide storage for water underground. They
have been used in several parts of the world, notably India, Africa and
Brazil. Their use is in areas where flows of groundwater vary
considerably during the course of the year, from very high flows
following rain to negligible flows during the dry season.
ii. The basic principle of the groundwater dam is that instead of storing the
water in surface reservoirs, water is stored underground. The main
advantages of water storage in groundwater dams is that evaporation
losses are much less for water stored underground. Further, risk of
contamination of the stored water from the surface is reduced because
as parasites cannot breed in underground water. The problem of
submergence of land which is normally associated with surface dams is
not present with sub-surface dams.
iii. There are two main types of groundwater dam: the sub-surface dam and
the sand storage dam.
 Sub-surface dam

A sub-surface dam intercepts or obstructs the flow of an aquifer and reduces the
variation of the level of the groundwater table upstream of the dam. It is built entirely
under the ground

Sand storage dam

The sand storage dam is constructed above ground. Sand and soil particles transported
during periods of high flow are allowed to deposit behind the dam, and water is stored
in these soil deposits. The sand storage dam is constructed in layers to allow sand to
be deposited and finer material be washed downstream.
c. Groundwater shafts
i. Most efficient and cost-effective technique to recharge unconfined
aquifer overlain by poorly permeable strata. Surplus water can be
recharged to groundwater.
ii. Diameter, 0.8m (drilling) to 2m (manually excavated).

d. Injection well
i. The injection well is similar to a tube well.
ii. This technique is suitable for augmenting the ground water storage of
deeper aquifers by “pumping in” treated surface water.
iii. These wells can be used as pumping wells during summers.
iv. The method is suitable to recharge single aquifers or multiple aquifers.
v. The recharge through this technique is comparatively costlier and
required specialized technique.
2) Big scale rain water harvesting
a. Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse on-
site, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater can be collected from rivers or
roofs, and in many places, the water collected is redirected to a deep pit (well,
shaft, or borehole), a reservoir with percolation, or collected from dew or fog
with nets or other tools. Its uses include water for gardens, livestock, irrigation,
domestic use with proper treatment, indoor heating for houses, etc. The
harvested water can also be used as drinking water, longer-term storage, and for
other purposes such as groundwater recharge.
b. Rainwater harvesting is one of the simplest and oldest methods of self-supply
of water for households usually financed by the user.

Rainwater capture and harvesting storage system

Rainwater harvesting tank

Rainwater harvesting and plastic pond

c. The advantages of rainwater harvesting (big scale)
i. Rainwater harvesting provides an independent water supply during
regional water restrictions, and in developed countries, is often used to
supplement the main supply.
ii. It provides water when a drought occurs, can help mitigate flooding of
low-lying areas, and reduces demand on wells which may enable
groundwater levels to be sustained.
iii. It also helps in the availability of potable water, as rainwater is
substantially free of salinity and other salts. Application of rainwater
harvesting in urban water system provides a substantial benefit for both
water supply and wastewater subsystems by reducing the need for clean
water in water distribution system, less generated stormwater in sewer
system, and a reduction in stormwater runoff polluting freshwater
bodies.

Rain catchment reservoir

3) Desalination
a. Desalination is a process that extracts mineral components from saline water.
More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a
target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture.
b. Saltwater is desalinated to produce water suitable for human consumption or
irrigation. One by-product of desalination is salt. Desalination is used on many
seagoing ships and submarines. Most of the modern interest in desalination is
focused on cost-effective provision of fresh water for human use. Along with
recycled wastewater, it is one of the few rainfall-independent water sources.
c. Advantages of desalination:
i. Provides people with potable water (clean & fresh drinking water).
ii. Provides water to the agricultural industry.
iii. Water quality is safe (not dangerous or hazardous to any living thing).
iv. Uses tried-and-tested technology (the method is proven and effective).
v. Helps preserve current freshwater supplies.
vi. Unlimited ocean water as source.
vii. Independent of changing factors.
viii. Plants are safely located.
ix. Help with habitat protection

Overview of seawater desalination concept

 Schematic of a multistage flash desalinator
A – steam in
B – seawater in
C – potable water out
D – waste out
E – steam out
F – heat exchange
G – condensation collection
H – brine heater

d. There are several methods to desalinate sea water;

i. Vacuum distillation
ii. Multi-stage flash distillation
iii. Multiple-effect distillation
iv. Vapor-compression distillation
v. Reverse osmosis
vi. Freeze-thaw
vii. Solar evaporation
viii. Electrodialysis reversal
ix. Membrane distillation

Desalination plant
 4) River water transfer
a. Water transfer is the transfer of water from one river catchment to another.
Transfer can take place by river diversion, pipeline or even by sea tanker.
There is often a surplus of water in one area and too little in another — both
on a small scale within a country, on a larger, continental scale and even on a
global scale. Water transfer is one method of increasing the supply to areas
with too little water.
b. One of examples of water transfer project are, Pahang-Selangor Raw Water
Transfer Project (started in 2010 - completed in 2014).

The inter-state water transfer scheme was conceptualised in 1990s, with the completion
target will be 2014. The scheme aims to convey raw water at 1,890 million litres per day
from Sungai Semantan in Pahang to the Hulu Langat water treatment facility in Selangor.
The raw water will be transferred via a 44.56 km long, 5.2m diameter tunnel, with gravity
flow to the water treatment plan.
Reference

i. Wikipedia.com
ii. MSMA Stormwater Management Eco-Hydrology (SME)
iii. Ecoteam.com
iv. Spel.com