Accepted Manuscript

Rainwater harvesting as an alternative water resource in Malaysia: potential, policies

and development

Khai Ern Lee, Mazlin Mokhtar, Marlia Mohd Hanafiah, Azhar Abdul Halim, Jamaludin
Badusah

PII: S0959-6526(16)30128-7
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.060
Reference: JCLP 6909

To appear in: Journal of Cleaner Production

Received Date: 4 September 2015

Revised Date: 23 March 2016
Accepted Date: 23 March 2016

Please cite this article as: Lee KE, Mokhtar M, Mohd Hanafiah M, Abdul Halim A, Badusah J, Rainwater
harvesting as an alternative water resource in Malaysia: potential, policies and development, Journal of
Cleaner Production (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.060.

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
1 Rainwater harvesting as an alternative water resource in Malaysia: potential, policies

2 and development

3 Khai Ern Lee1*, Mazlin Mokhtar1, Marlia Mohd Hanafiah2, Azhar Abdul Halim2, Jamaludin

4 Badusah3
1
5 Research Centre for Sustainability Science & Governance (SGK), Institute for Environment

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6 and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi,

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7 Selangor, Malaysia
2
8 School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and

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9 Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
3
10 Department of Teaching and Learning Innovation, Faculty of Education, Universiti

11
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Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
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12 *Corresponding author’s email: khaiernlee@ukm.edu.my
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13

14 ABSTRACT
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15 Some regions in Malaysia is facing water scarcity problem nowadays despite Malaysia has
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16 high quantity of water resources. The increasing water demand has triggered the initiatives to

17 look for alternative water supply. Rainwater harvesting was proposed by the government as
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18 part of the solutions to mitigate water scarcity problem. Literatures associated with rainwater
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19 harvesting were obtained from various sources. These literatures were reviewed and have
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20 been instrumental to analyze the potential, policies and development of rainwater harvesting

21 in Malaysia. This article discusses the potential of rainwater harvesting in Malaysia under the

22 dynamic climate as a case study. The challenges of rainwater harvesting development in

23 terms of environment, policy, economy, social and technical are pointed with the way

24 forward for rainwater harvesting. It is anticipated that rainwater harvesting is going to play

25 the role as an alternative water resource in the country. In order to promote rainwater
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26 harvesting in Malaysia, inter-ministerial and multi-stakeholders co-operations are needed to

27 mainstream this alternative water resource into the national strategy.

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29 Keywords: rainwater harvesting, Malaysia, policies, development, climate change

30

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31 1. Introduction

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32 The human population has doubled from 3.9 billion to 7.0 billion over the last decades,

33 but the water demand has increased three-fold. According to Food and Agriculture

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34 Organization (2015), the world’s need for water is growing twice as fast as the population.

35 By 2025, about 1.8 billion people are expected to experience water scarcity, while two-thirds

36
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of the population will experience water stress (United Nations, 2014). The rapid growths in
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37 population, urbanization, industrialization and irrigated agriculture have imposed growing
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38 pressure on existing water resources. Water resources shortage has given a negative impact

39 on the development of a city and the basic lives of the residents, and it has become the main
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40 factor obstructing the development of a society (Hashim et al., 2013). Thus, an alternative
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41 water resource is needed to address the water shortage issues because sustainable water

42 resources management can be a catalyst for socioeconomic development for the country
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43 (Raja Zainal Abidin, 2004).

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44 Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is proposed as the concept of accumulation and

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45 deposition of rainwater for use instead of allowing it to runoff. RWH systems are able to

46 simultaneously address the water scarcity problem and reduce the dependence on domestic

47 water supply (Gois et al., 2014; Sample & Liu, 2014; Thomas et al., 2014; Unami et al., 2014;

48 Morales-Pinzon et al., 2015). In Malaysia, the government began to promote the use of RWH

49 system in 1999. With the recent increasing water shortage and rationing events, RWH has

50 started to gain its practical application. The present article probes the potential of RWH
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51 development in Malaysia under the dynamic climate as a case study by reviewing the

52 government policies associated with RWH development and discussing about the challenges

53 as well as the way forward of RWH development in Malaysia.

54

55 2. Methods

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56 This research utilized case study method in examine contemporary issues whereby the

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57 relevant behaviors cannot be manipulated and the history as well as perspectives of real social

58 and natural systems are considered and the phenomenon cannot be separated from their

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59 context (Yin, 2009; Lazano & Huisingh, 2011).

60 Malaysia was selected for in-depth case study to study the potential, policies and

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development in regard to RWH as an alternative water resource due to its water shortage
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62 problems lately. Firstly, literatures including journals, proceedings and reports over the past
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63 20 years were obtained from libraries, ministry resource centers and internet. Secondly, the

64 policies, technical data and findings obtained from these literatures were classified into
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65 chronological order that may be derived from the researchers’ readings and research. The
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66 literatures in chronological order were further defined and analyzed based upon literature

67 review. Finally, the relationships of policies and development path were clearly recognized
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68 and these helped to provide new insights and offered the researchers a systematic way for the
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69 discussion of challenges and way forward for RWH development in Malaysia.

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70

71 3. Malaysian Dynamic Climate and Potential of Rainwater Harvesting

72 Characterization

73 Being a developing nation, Malaysia cannot escape from water issues either. Malaysia

74 is a tropical country, having an average of 2400 mm annual precipitation, which is relatively

75 rich in water resources (Che-Ain et al., 2009). Malaysia is geographically located in between
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76 two large oceans, i.e. the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Indian Ocean to the west.

77 Therefore, the Malaysian natural climate variability is strongly influenced by the Southeast

78 Asia Maritime monsoon. The surface climate is influenced by two monsoon regimes namely

79 the southwest monsoon (dry season) and the northeast monsoon (wet season). The southwest

80 monsoon is characterized with low level southwesterly winds, it starts in May and usually

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81 ends in August while the northeast monsoon is dominated by northeasterly winds that cross

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82 over the South China Sea, and it starts in November and usually ends in February of the

83 following year. Intermittently during this period, strong pulses of wind penetrate to the most

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84 southern region of the South China Sea and bring relatively high precipitation (Chang et al.,

85 2005).

86
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Malaysia had never experienced any serious water crisis in the past few decades.
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87 However, rainfalls are unevenly distributed in Malaysia, leaving some areas to experience dry
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88 spells while other areas have occurrences of floods. Especially in urban areas like Kuala

89 Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya are facing water shortage nowadays, despite having tropical
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90 climate and rich water resources. This situation was exacerbated by the El Nino phenomenon
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91 which had caused a severe drought in 1997/98, giving a great impact to the country

92 particularly on the public water supply sector and residents. Malaysian climate is largely
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93 influenced by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and Indian Ocean

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94 Dipole (IOD). These El Nino and La Nina phenomena have led to climate variability and
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95 extreme weather.

96 The dynamic climate event affects precipitation whereby it causes dynamic weather,

97 fluctuations in temperature and precipitation which could affect the yield of RWH (Tangang

98 et al., 2012). Kavvas et al. (2007) shows average annual precipitation for Malaysia in Figure

99 1 and the associated regions are shown in Figure 2. A decrease in average annual

100 precipitation (mm) is projected in high population urban areas namely Klang, Johor, Selangor,
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101 West Coast and Southern Peninsular of Malaysia. An increase in average annual precipitation

102 (mm) is projected in areas namely Kelantan, Northeast Coast, Pahang, Perak, Kedah and

103 Terengganu (Cain, 2014). Therefore, the potential of RWH has to be studied by considering

104 precipitation projection and impacts of climate change on precipitation before the RWH

105 system being deployed (Youn et al., 2012).

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106 In May 2014, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) of

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107 Malaysia advised the nation to be prepared for El Nino phenomenon and drought during the

108 southwest monsoon from May to September 2014. RWH hence emerged as an alternative to

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109 prepare for drought (Lee, 2014). By harvesting rainwater, it is able to prevent water resource

110 from runoff into drainage system. At the same time, RWH is able to reduce the water

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footprint through reducing dependence on domestic water supply from dam and reservoir
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112 (Vialle et al., 2015). However, the increasing water demand needs a systematic support to
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113 local innovations on RWH to provide an alternative water supply and reduce the domestic

114 water demand.

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115
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116 4. Rainwater Harvesting Policies and Development

117 Table 1 shows the list of policies and guidelines concerning RWH in Malaysia based
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118 on chronological order after the historical analysis. In 1999, the “Guidelines for Installing a
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119 Rainwater Collection and Utilization System” was first introduced by the Ministry of
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120 Housing and Local Government (KPKT) after 1998 drought event. It was the initial phase of

121 RWH policy in Malaysia. It aimed to reduce the dependence on treated water and provide a

122 convenient buffer in times of shortfall in water supply. The guidelines proposed the

123 construction of rainwater collecting tanks in urban area instead of continuing to build giant

124 dams upstream and it served as a reference for those who want to install a rainwater

125 collection and utilization system (Che-Ain et al., 2009). However, the implementation of the
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126 first RWH policy was not really successful back then. This was because RWH was still very

127 alien to Malaysian, it generally did not deal with cost and implementation issues and most of

128 the systems were not available locally (Mohd.-Shawahid et al., 2007).

129 In 2004, one cabinet paper was prepared by the KPKT and submitted to the National

130 Water Resources Council to encourage government buildings to install a rainwater collection

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131 and utilization system. The council encouraged installing rainwater collection and utilization

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132 but it was not mandatory. Two government agencies, namely the Department of Irrigation

133 and Drainage (DID) and the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communication (KTAK), were

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134 the pioneers in implementing RWH system in their buildings. However, the acceptance of

135 RWH system was also not satisfactory in the beginning stage whereby it was only introduced

136
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in a few new housing development projects (Mohd.-Shawahid et al., 2007). National
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137 Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), which is under the purview of the
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138 Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), has been actively involving in

139 researching, designing and installation of RWH systems for government buildings, mosques,
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140 residential houses and schools. And, NAHRIM has now become the key driver for RWH in
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141 Malaysia. The RWH project carried out by NAHRIM on double storey terrace house at

142 Taman Wangsa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur showed that RWH is able to save up to 34% of the
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143 household supply (Shaaban, 2009).

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144 In 2005, The Federal Constitution transferred all matters related to water supply
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145 service from State List to Concurrent List to enable the Federal Government involve in the

146 water service sector. On top of that, the KTAK introduced two new water related laws,

147 namely Water Services Industry Act 2006 and Water Services Commission Act 2006. Under

148 the new acts, the Ministry is encouraging RWH system implementation. On March 27, 2006,

149 the Prime Minister announced that RWH would be made mandatory to large buildings

150 (Mohd.-Shawahid et al., 2007). Since then, new sets of guideline were introduced.
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151 “Rainwater Harvesting: Guidebook on Planning and Design” was introduced by DID in 2009,

152 followed by “Guideline on Eco-Efficiency in Water Infrastructure for Public Buildings in

153 Malaysia” by NAHRIM in 2011 and “Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia

154 2nd edition” by DID in 2012.

155 In 2011, the Malaysian government imposed residential building (bungalow and semi-

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156 detached) and all types of building with roof area equal or more than 100 m2 in all states of

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157 Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territories to install RWH system through the

158 amendment of the Uniform Building By-Laws 1984, which was approved by the National

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159 Council of Local Government. In 2013, the “Guidelines for Installing a Rainwater Collection

160 and Utilization System 1999” was revised and published by the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing,

161
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Housing and Local Government (formally Ministry of Housing and Local Government)
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162 whereby local governments required all developments must comply with the condition to
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163 install RWH system within their development before the Development Order or Certificate of

164 Completion and Compliance is issued. The revised guidelines also require licensed plumbers
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165 who are registered with National Water Services Commission (SPAN) to perform installation
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166 of RWH system. However, the Research, Development and Innovation Division of SPAN

167 does not approve any specific materials and equipments of RWH system as raw water
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168 (untreated rainwater) is not under the purview of SPAN, although the revised guidelines
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169 states that the use of material in the RWH system shall comply and be approved by the
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170 Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) and SPAN. For the

171 integrated system of RWH and public water supply, SPAN has regulated the RWH

172 installation and connection in any building category. Backflow preventers or similar

173 equipment shall be installed at the RWH system to prevent untreated rainwater to flow

174 reversely or being back-siphoning to the public water supply system. It is also prevent
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175 possible contamination caused by untreated rainwater to the public water supply plumbing

176 system and eventually consumed by the household (Lee, 2014).

177 Currently, the detailed installation of RWH system is very much relying on the

178 supplier’s specification though the RWH system shall in general be designed according to

179 good plumbing design practices to conform to existing building by-laws and regulations.

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180 Thus, SPAN has announced that the Water Services Industry (Water Reticulation and

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181 Plumbing) Rules 2014 and the Water Services Industry (Water Services Deposits, Fees, and

182 Charges) Regulations 2014 have been implemented throughout Peninsular Malaysia,

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183 including Federal Territories, to standardize the water services technical requirements and

184 specified that the requirement for non-potable water supply system is applicable to the RWH

185
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system, started in February 2014. Rainwater is collected for general washing and gardening
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186 purposes, but the common use of rainwater in a building is for toilet flushing whereby the
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187 rainwater cistern is connected to the water closet fittings to minimize the use of treated water

188 for non-potable use.

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189
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190 5. Challenges

191 Five interconnected challenges have been generally identified based on our analysis,
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192 namely environmental, policy, economic, social and technical aspects. These challenges need
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193 to be addressed in the planning, funding, construction, operation and maintenance, in order to
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194 consolidate RWH as an alternative water resource.

195 • Environment: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment

196 (IPCC, 2013) reported that it is virtually certain that there will be warmer and fewer cold

197 days and nights over most land in the 21st century. Anthropogenic warming is very likely

198 to increase the area affected by droughts. Peninsular Malaysia is projected to have lower

199 average precipitation during December through February, which used to be relatively
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200 high in precipitation. Drastic decrease in minimum monthly precipitation (32 – 61 %)

201 especially during the dry season from May to August associated with climate change in

202 certain regions, could cause the RWH system ineffective if precipitation falls below a

203 minimum threshold or not sufficient to hold a reliable supply (Che-Ain et al., 2009;

204 Shaaban, 2009). Therefore, the changes in rainfall pattern due to climate change need to

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205 be taken into account for designing RWH system.

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206 Policy: Despite several guidelines have been launched by the Malaysian government

207 since 1999, RWH is yet to gain much public popularity. The most encouraging

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208 development was introduced by the government to make RWH mandatory in March 27,

209 2006. However, this policy is only applied to large buildings like factories, schools or

210
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bungalows. It is certainly a right step to make it mandatory despite the fact that there is
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211 still lack of robust policy to promote the installation of RWH in Malaysia (Mohd.-
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212 Shawahid et al., 2007).

213 • Economics: The average water tariff of Malaysia is 0.39 USD/m3. Comparing to that of
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214 Indonesia (0.77 USD/m3) and Singapore (1.88 USD/m3), water tariff in Malaysia is
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215 deemed as one of the lowest in the region. However, the cost of installing a RWH system

216 in Malaysia is estimated between USD 400 to USD 3000. The payback time could take
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217 years and such a cost-benefit trade-off makes it uneconomical to install RWH system in
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218 view of its low return of investment. The scaling-down of RWH system to a smaller unit
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219 could make the installation cost cheaper and hence make the RWH economical. In

220 addition, the lack of incentives also makes Malaysian slow in accepting RWH system. As

221 practised in Japan and elsewhere the government may need to provide subsidies to

222 encourage the public to install RWH (Mohd.-Shawahid et al., 2007).

223 • Social: Average urban water use in Malaysia is 344 liter/capital/day which is much higher

224 than 165 liter/capital/day that recommended by the United Nations. Due to the “paradox
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225 of plenty”, Malaysian public tends to have a perception that there is abundance of water

226 resources in the country and RWH system is a “nice to have” facility within a building

227 and it might not be needed (Che-Ain et al., 2009). Such a public perception has given the

228 impression that it is unnecessary to harvest rainwater as their alternative water resource.

229 Nevertheless, RWH is self sufficiency and able to reduce the dependence on domestic

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230 water supply by developing an appreciation for water resources among the residents in

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231 the urban area.

232 • Technical: According to Hashim et al. (2013), 58% of water supply can be provided by

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233 RWH and 41% must be supplied by the water utility. The optimization of the RWH

234 system design is crucial to meet the supply and demand network at optimal reliability.

235
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There are many technical parameters to be taken into account for RWH, namely rainfall
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236 characteristics, catchment area (roof area), cistern storage size, rainwater demand (for
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237 non-potable purposes) and overall water use pattern. RWH system could be ineffective if

238 other technical parameters such as first flush volume and losses on the roof through
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239 evaporation and splashing have been overlooked. Therefore, innovative technical solution
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240 such as rainwater recycling is needed to increase the yield of RWH.

241
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242 6. Way Forward

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243 Dynamic and extreme weather due to the climate change are expected to leave a great
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244 impact on the environment, particularly the water resources. There is a general human

245 response to adapt and mitigate the sufferings of water shortage associated with such climate

246 extremes (Kavvas et al., 2007). Human may resort to modify dwelling environment by

247 adapting new strategies to optimize the utility of available or alternative water resources. A

248 comprehensive knowledge of climate fluctuations and corresponding adaptation and

249 mitigation are crucial to progress towards sustainable development. Efforts to develop
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250 sustainable water resource in Malaysia have to be guided by a robust and holistic national

251 policy (Pandey et al., 2003). Therefore, RWH development has to be mainstreamed,

252 institutionalized and up-scaled through the national water and climate change policy; and

253 through enacting legislations and supporting with detailed guidelines, the development of

254 RWH system will be authoritative and organized. It has also been noted that the cost of

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255 installation, maintenance and usage of RWH is much higher than that of domestic water

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256 supply. To promote RWH system as an alternative for the water supply, a comparison of the

257 cost of RWH with domestic water supply has to be done. The government has to provide

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258 subsidies and rebates to encourage the public to install RWH system as done in other

259 countries like Japan, Germany and Australia. The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and

260
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Water (KeTTHA), the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government
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261 (KPKT), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) in association with mass
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262 media have to conduct education and awareness campaigns to increase the popularity of

263 RWH to the public. In addition, the Ministry of Education (MOE) should also incorporate
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264 RWH into school education curriculum in both primary and secondary schools to ensure our
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265 younger generation is educated to conserving water resources for a better life (Mohd.-

266 Shawahid et al., 2007). RWH perhaps would not be the most adequate solution in the short-
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267 term for alternative water resource, but the reduction of water consumption would be possible.
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268 Therefore, innovative technical solutions are needed to be adopted to retrofit RWH into the
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269 new and existing buildings to make RWH an integrated part of the water supply system.

270 Other alternative water resources for example, air conditioning and cooling tower water can

271 also be recycled and reused by integrating into RWH system to reduce water consumption

272 and the dependence on domestic water supply.

273

274 7. Conclusions
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275 The rapid growths in population, urbanization, industrialization and irrigated

276 agriculture have imposed growing pressure on the existing water resources. The public

277 should therefore adopt the concept of sustainability in conserving water resources because

278 water resources have shrunken further with the rising threats of dynamic climate and extreme

279 weather. In response to climate extremes, RWH has emerged as one of the measures to

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280 enhance the resilience of human society towards water shortage problem. A case study has

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281 been conducted in Malaysia whereby several government agencies have introduced and

282 implemented several guidelines and initiatives with regard to RWH. However, RWH has yet

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283 to be mainstreamed into the national water and climate change policy as an adaptation

284 strategy to climate change, especially in urban areas where water resources are fast depleting

285
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due to rapid increase in population and water consumption. We suggest that inter-ministerial
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286 and multi-stakeholders co-operations are needed to promote the development of RWH in the
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287 country to be authoritative and organized as an alternative water resource.

288
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289 Acknowledgement
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290 The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by Universiti

291 Kebangsaan Malaysia through Geran Universiti Penyelidikan (GUP-2014-034) and Dana
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292 Impak Perdana (DIP-2015-008).

293
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352 Internet resources

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353 FAO, 2015. < http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/greenercities/en/whyuph/>

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355

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356 Glossary

357 DID: Department of Irrigation and Drainage

358 ENSO: El Nino-Southern Oscillation

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359 FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization
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360 IOD: Indian Ocean Dipole

361 IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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362 KeTTHA: Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water

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363 KPKT: Ministry of Housing and Local Government/ Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing

364 and Local Government

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365 KTAK: Ministry of Energy, Water and Communication

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366 MOE: Ministry of Education

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367 MOSTI: Ministry of Science, Technology and Technology and Innovation

368 NAHRIM: National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia

369 NRE: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

370 RWH: Rain Water Harvesting

371 SIRIM: Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia

372 SPAN: National Water Services Commission

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Table 1 The list of policies and guidelines concerning RWH in Malaysia.
No Guidelines Department / Agency Year
1 Guidelines for Installing a Ministry of Housing and Local 1999
Rainwater Collection and Utilization Government
System
2 Rainwater Harvesting: Guidebook Department of Irrigation and 2009
on Planning and Design Drainage Malaysia
3 Guideline on Eco-Efficiency in National Hydraulic Research 2011
Water Infrastructure for public Institute of Malaysia

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Buildings in Malaysia
4 Urban Stormwater Management Department of Irrigation and 2012
nd
Manual for Malaysia, MSMA 2 Drainage Malaysia

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Edition
5 Panduan Pelaksanaan Inisiatif Federal Town and Country 2012
Pembangunan Kejiranan Hijau – Planning Department

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Sistem Pengumpulan dan
Penggunaan Semula Air Hujan
6 Garis Panduan Perancangan Federal Town and Country 2012
Kejiranan Hijau Planning Department

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7 Garis Panduan Sistem Pengumpulan Federal Town and Country 2013
dan Penggunaan Air Hujan Planning Department,
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Ministry of Urban Wellbeing,
Housing and Local Government
8 Urban Stormwater Management – Department of Standards 2014
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Part 6: Rainwater Harvesting, Malaysia

MS2526-6:2014
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West Coast (1)

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Perak (7)
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Kedah (8)
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Northeast Cost (11)
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Terengganu (4)
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Regions
Klang (2)
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Selangor (3)

Pahang (6)
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Johor (9)
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Figure 1 Average annual precipitation in Peninsular Malaysia (Kavvas et al., 2007).

Southern Peninsular (10)
2041 - 2050 (b)
1984 - 1993 (a)

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Figure 2 Sub-regions of Peninsular Malaysia where the impact of climate change is assessed
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(Kavvas et al., 2007).

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Highlights:

• RWH was proposed by the government to mitigate water crisis.

• Malaysian government has implemented guidelines with regard to RWH.
• RWH needs to be streamlined into national policy.
• Inter-ministry co-operation is needed to promote RWH.

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