Johor: The Johor government has dismissed allegations that link water supply disruptions in Pontian and Simpang Renggam to the development of data centres, labeling them as unfounded and baseless.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh, the chairman of the State Work, Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Committee, clarified that no data centres receive water supply from the areas of Simpang Renggam and Benut, and these locations are not designated for such developments. The allegations, which have been circulating widely, incorrectly associate the scheduled water disruptions in these areas with data centre developments, he stated, categorizing them as slanderous.

Water supply to the Simpang Renggam and Benut areas is provided by the Simpang Renggam Water Treatment Plant, which processes raw water from Sungai Ulu Benut, with additional support from the Machap Dam. The treatment plant has a maximum capacity of 64 million litres per day (MLD). The current scheduled water supply disruptions are attributed to a decrease in raw water levels due to a prolonged drought. Despite recent rainfall, the water levels in the river and dam have not yet reached optimal levels.

Mohamad Fazli emphasized that for the Simpang Renggam Water Treatment Plant to operate at its full capacity of 64 MLD using all four pumps, the intake level of Sungai Benut needs to exceed 4.90 meters. Presently, the water level is around 4.66 meters, which remains below the optimal level for operation. This shortfall restricts the full utilization of the pumps and impacts the production of treated water, necessitating scheduled water supply to ensure equitable distribution to users.

As a mitigation strategy, the state government, along with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), has initiated cloud seeding operations at primary catchment areas, including the Upper Layang Dam, Pulai Dam, and Machap Dam, to enhance rainfall chances and facilitate the recovery of raw water levels.