Syabas declares 'code red' after major diesel spill

Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) has declared code red emergency after a diesel spill entered the water supply in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

According to a statement by Syabas, the diesel spill has caused water disruption in almost the entire state of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and an emergency response plan has been activated.

“We have used all our existing logistical resources to supply emergency water to affected consumers,” said Syabas chief operating officer Lee Miang Koi.

However, he warned that the amount of emergency water that can be delivered is limited.

“It (emergency water supply) depends on the reservoirs at all four water treatment plans and Syabas service reservoirs that are in the respective consumers’ areas,” he said.

Lee also appealed to both the federal and state government for assistance to deal with the water crisis.

“We request help from the Selangor government and federal government to prepare sufficient logistic such as water tankers and static tanks as soon as possible to face a large-scale water disruption,” he said.

He said the spill has resulted in the closure of water treatment plans of Sungai Selangor phase one, two, and three as well as the Rantau Panjang water treatment plan.

The affected areas are Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Gombak, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor and Kuala Langat.

‘Long clean-up’

According to Bernama, a tanker had overturned, spilling the diesel it was carrying into Sungai Selangor at around 8am this morning.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Deputy Minister Mahdzir Khalid (right) was quoted as saying that a clean up has begun but that it would take a long time.

He added that the federal agency National Water Services Commission (Span) will set up operations centres to convey information to the public about the crisis.

Syabas’s corporate communications and public affairs assistant general manager Priscilla Alfred was quoted as saying that the four affected water treatment plants cover 57 percent of the water demand in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

She said 42 lorries and 525 static tanks have been mobilised to deal with the water disruption. 

Meanwhile, Syabas chief executive officer Ruslan Hassan said steps were taken to reduce the output of treated water following the breakdown of a mobile generator supplying electricity to Phase 2 of the Sungai Selangor (SSP2) Water Treatment Plant (LRA). 

SSP2 LRA supplies 950 million litres of clean water a day to 290,529 accounts which now had to be reduced to 320 million litres, he said in a statement.

Anyone with complaints or queries can contact Syabas Customer Service Centre through toll free 24-hour line at 1-800-88-5252 or SMS 39222 or lodge a report in Syabas' Facebook or Twitteraccounts.