SYNOPSIS

The high levels of potable water production and consumption in the Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya facilitated through supply management points can be realized by implementing a water demand management (WDM) plan. The speaker examines water consumption trends, water-saving plumbing fixtures, appliances and best practice in the literature. When quantified the water-saving potential for the domestic, non-domestic and supply (non-revenue water) sectors is achievable through the implementation of a WDM plan. It reveals numbers that are large enough to forestall indefinitely the need for new water supply infrastructure. Having collaborated with a number of organisations, interested parties and experts, he also reviews the recommendations for a WDM plan that were proposed to the authorities. Care was taken to ensure that the recommendations were (1) practical and (2) implementable within existing institutional and legislative framework.

The speaker also notes that, in the long run, the plan has to be underpinned by a shift to a water-conserving culture in Malaysia, and believes, a spiritual connection to water has to be re-discovered. The support of those working at the leading edge of society such as professional engineers would be vital in the success of WDM plan as well as enabling a reverence for water among the community.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

James T. Cherian is an active advocate for Water Demand Management in Selangor and Malaysia. In 2009, he served as the lead author of the multi-stakeholder proposal for a Water Demand Management Plan. The proposal was presented to the Selangor state government, the Penang Water Authority and SPAN, the National Water Services Commission. He has served as an environmental consultant in Singapore and in Australia and previously worked in Goodyear Canada and in Philips Singapore, where he developed the first non-disposable anti-scaling device in steam irons. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from the National University of Singapore.