REALLY, SYABAS? Water crisis in Klang Valley could prolong until CNY

KUALA LUMPUR - The water crisis in the Klang Valley, especially in Ampang and Cheras, is expected to continue up to the Chinese New Year celebration in February, according to Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).

The water supply situation in both areas will be monitored closely and Syabas will update residents on the latest status on a daily basis, its executive chairman, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, said.

He said Syabas had deployed technical and non-technical staff from various departments to assist the affected residents.

"It is our duty to supply residents with clean water and, since we cannot do so with pipes, we will distribute water using lorries and tankers. We will help them carry the water to their homes," he said.

Rozali was addressing about 200 Syabas staff at a briefing before their deployment to assigned areas, at the Syabas headquarters, here, today.

He said people who wished to help those affected by the water crisis could contact the Syabas headquarters to register as volunteers and be assigned to the critical areas.

About 1,000 Syabas staff are involved in the round-the-clock operation, including the 450 technical staff already deployed when the crisis started two weeks ago.

Rozali said the crisis could prolong as there was a shortage of treated water, an increase in demand from time to time and suspension of capex programmes which included repair works, upgrading or changing of assets and the current water distribution system by the state government.

Syabas CEO Datuk Lee Miang Koi said he expected the restoration of water supply in 13 areas in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur to take a longer time.

He said the restoration process could not be fully achieved in areas such as Taman Pandan Jaya, Taman Cempaka, Pandan Cahaya and Desa Pandan, involving about 28,000 accounts, due to the absence of water supply reserve capacity.

The pumping rate of the Wangsa Maju Pumphouse was restricted to 180 million litres per day compared to the normal rate of 210 million litres per day.

"The restoration for Kuala Lumpur area thus far was only 40 per cent owing to the reduction in the pumping rate of treated water from the pumphouse.

"The pumphouse has difficulty operating on overload when it is required to operate above the pumping rate of 170 to 180 million litres per day," he told a news conference.

Lee said Syabas had taken the alternative measure of facilitating consumers by sending water with the use of 40 tankers, and also 16 tankers from other states such as Johor, Perak and Melaka.

He advised the people to use water sparingly during the restoration period to ease the difficulty they faced. Lee said the Pudu Hulu Baru Pumphouse was fully operational on Jan 6 and the water supply disruption in the Gombak area was 95 per cent restored.

– Bernama