SHAH ALAM, 16 June: The State Government, through local authorities, welcomes the recommendations of the Green Neighbourhood Action Plan gazetted by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MOHLG) to adopt the Rainwater Harvesting System (RHS).

The Executive Councillor for Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlers, Iskandar Abdul Samad, said that the State Government will also undertake specific studies to identify the potential of RHS and On Site Detention (OSD) to be included in the construction of new homes.

He said that the study, which will be jointly conducted by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and local authorities, will be imposed on the application of building plans, such as detached homes, semi-detached homes and separate buildings with a roofs over 100 square metres.

“The State Government has already implemented the same system at the Silver Jubilee Hall Building to avoid the use of clean water.

“So, we can use this water for cleaning, watering flower plants and toilet flushing, which in turn can save the expenses of the water bill.

“This project will be fully completed in August 2014,” he said at the Selangor State Assembly session this morning.

Earlier, the Assemblyman for Hulu Kelang, Saari Sungib, asked about the measures taken by the State Government, as provided by the Act.

Further elaborating, Iskandar, who is also the Assemblyman for Cempaka, said that the State Government is also actively implementing programmes to promote the use of rainwater through the Executive Councillor for Tourism and Environment.

“We will identify the mechanisms to educate the people of Selangor to adopt rain water usage for daily use, such as washing the house compound and water, as well as for planting purposes.

“This will be extended to all local authorities to use rainwater catchment for the watering of landscaping trees,” he said.

NS