KEPALA BATAS, May 15 — Water supply resumed in stages for about 90 percent of consumers who faced water disruption since yesterday in Penang due to a sudden drop in water level at the Sungai Muda (Lahar Tiang) intake inlet, which affected the inflow to the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (LRA), near here.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the remaining 10 percent which involves about 40,000 consumers in the Barat Daya district will receive water supply in stages until Wednesday.
“Since yesterday, more than 400,000 account holders with the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) involving about 2 million consumers in the state had experienced water disruption but through concerted efforts from all those involved, water supply was restored to about 90 percent of consumers within 36 hours.
“Another 10 percent who are still affected by the disruption are areas in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Penang International Airport, Teluk Kumbar, Jalan Pondok Upeh, Bayan Lepas, Persiaran Mayang Pasir, Sungai Batu and Gertak Sanggul.
“Currently 22 tankers are supplying water to the affected areas and we will provide additional supply to ensure consumers are not severely affected,” he told reporters after visiting the Lahar Tiang intake area here today with PBAPP chief executive officer K.Pathmanathan and the director of the state Drainage and Irrigation Mohd Nazri Yasmin.
Chow who is also the chairman of PBAPP said PBAPP was currently optimising operations to restore water supply throughout the state as well as update information to all consumers.
Checks at Sungai Muda (Lahar Tiang) intake inlet, showed that the reading was 1.56 metres (m) today compared with 0.4m yesterday while raw water abstraction was 83 percent.
“Operations at the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (LRA) has reached 100 percent with production reaching about 1,000 million litres (JLH) a day and PBAPP has been working hard to pump raw water to the maximum level from Sungai Muda and from the Mengkuang Dam,” he said.
He also urged the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) to carry out a thorough investigation into the malfunctioning issue of the Sungai Muda barrage which affected millions of consumers in Penang and Kedah.
In Kedah about 252,000 account holders in Kuala Muda, Kulim and parts of Baling were affected by water disruption due to the sudden drop in water level at the barrage of Sungai Muda.
Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd (SADA) in a statement had said water disruption which started at 7.25 am yesterday in the three districts was unexpected and affected the water treatment plants in Sungai Petani/Pinang Tunggal and Kulim Hi-Tech.
