Exco says water supply resuming, slams Syabas for creating panic

Selangor state exco member Elizabeth Wong (pic) has lashed out at water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd for "creating panic among the public" over the diesel spillage at Sungai Selangor which resulted in massive water supply disruptions in the Klang Valley.

"Syabas need not have issued a statement to create furore and trigger panic. Furthermore, the source of the spillage is not as being claimed by the company," Wong told The Malaysian Insider today.

She said the four plants which were shut down following the diesel spill started operating again at 4am today and were treating at full capacity by 6am.

"The reservoirs are beginning to fill up," she assured millions of consumers today in the wake of Syabas activating its emergency response plan over the incident.

Wong said Syabas had misinformed the public over the matter.

"Is it a water disruption? Yes.

"Is the spill massive? Yes.

"Is it a crisis? No. Because we began managing it by yesterday evening," Wong told The Malaysian Insider.

In a statement last night, Syabas had said over one million consumers in seven districts in Selangor may have to go without water for days due to the closure of the Sungai Selangor Phase 1, 2 and 3 and Rantau Panjang treatment plants to facilitate clean-up works. The districts affected are Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Klang/Shah Alam, Gombak, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Langat and Kuala Selangor.

It had warned that the treated water reserve at the four plants can only last for a day.

Wong said the the spillage was caused by a lorry workshop located in Rawang and not from a lorry that had overturned as claimed by Syabas.

She said the workshop had been closed after being slapped with a notice and action is being taken against its owner.

"Rightfully, the workshop should have stored their diesel in drums but that was not done. This caused the oil to flow into the river," she said.

She added the diesel has since been cleared and water supply will return to normal in stages, depending on the affected location.

"Areas which are situated further from the plants may take a longer period compared to those nearer to it,” she said.