KL City Hall and the Irrigation Dept plans to build underground water storage tunnels to alleviate flash floods

These days it seems that we’re either deluged by flash floods or a heatwave. While we can’t do much about the latter, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is cooperating with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) on plans to build a high-capacity groundwater storage tunnel to overcome the flash floods in Kuala Lumpur.

“Its function is to hold flood water before releasing it into the river when the water level is low. Most major cities worldwide, including Tokyo and Itabashi in Japan, have built it (the tunnel) under their roads,” explained Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim.

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“However, what we have found is that our roads are narrow. So, some have suggested that we build it 120 feet below the river,” he added at a media conference on “Towards A Flash Flood-Free Kuala Lumpur” here on Thursday, as reported by The Edge Markets.

The tunnel is one of many long-term solutions to alleviate the flash floods in the nation’s capital and will take between three to five years to complete.

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Firstly, DBKL will conduct a feasibility study to determine the location and specifications of the tunnel before work begins. The study is expected to take 3 months. Furthermore, DBKL will appoint a consultant for the project.

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On more immediate action, DBKL will build flood walls at areas where the rivers overflow. Shahidan explained that overflowing rivers meant the drainage system was unable to properly channel water into the rivers.

“We will also carry out works to desilt the reservoirs and rivers to maximise their usage capacity. For now, we have put sandbags in areas affected by river overflows, besides placing mobile water pumps as a temporary measure to overcome this problem,” he added.

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Shahidan had also attended the 27th International Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo, Japan from May 23-27, “Our purpose in going there was to see how Japan, especially in Tokyo and Itabashi, overcame floods and flash floods that frequently occurred previously.”

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Lastly, Shahidan called on the public to not litter in public areas as it could clog the drainage system and lead to flash floods.