Guan Eng tells Penang water authority to step up

 

Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng has urged the state water authority to improve its crisis management and contingency planning to reduce the impact of sudden water cuts.

"The recent breakdown in water supply in many parts of Penang island has caused misery to hundreds of thousands of consumers.

"This is the third time that consumers in Penang face sudden water cuts over the last year. The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) CEO and his team will need to work hard to regain consumers’ confidence in PBAPP's ability to supply water reliably," Lim said in a statement today.

His statement comes following the water supply disruption that hit certain areas in the state from last Sunday to Wednesday, due to a sudden drop in the water level at Sungai Muda.

While acknowledging that sudden water supply disruptions are unavoidable, Lim said proper crisis management and professional contingency planning can help mitigate the impact.

Lim (above) noted that in light of the current situation, PBAPP should urgently construct pipes that can transfer 1,000 million litres of water from the expanded Mengkuang Dam to the Sungai Dua water treatment plant.

The expanded dam, completed in 2017, has a capacity of 86,400 million litres of water and can support the state's water needs for more than a year, he added.

"For this reason, all Penangites should support PBAPP in its efforts to source funding whether through its own funds or allocations from the federal or state government to urgently construct the 1,000 million litres water pipe from Mengkuang Dam to Sungai Dua treatment plant."

Oh Tong Keong

Meanwhile, Penang Gerakan chairperson Oh Tong Keong has urged the state government to shelve plans for reclamations and hillside developments and look for a suitable location to build a large reservoir instead.

"The mountainous area in the southern part of the Southwest Region may not be suitable for building any form of dams, but it may be suitable for building large-scale reservoirs and filtration stations, which can transfer mountain water for filtering as a backup for water source and water supply storage.

"The dams and large reservoirs in Penang Island at present are only located in the Bukit Bendera area, which is Penang Island’s northern part. There are no dams or reservoirs in the southern part of Penang Island," Oh pointed out in a statement today.

Filtration station

A large reservoir, apart from channelling rainwater that can cause flooding, can also serve as pools and filtration stations that can increase water pressure in hillside residential areas in the southern region of the island, he noted.

"When there was a water supply problem in Penang last year, the southern part of the island was the most affected, and for the longest.

"Therefore, instead of an artificial island, the southern part of Penang Island needs a reservoir and a filtration station.

"If there are reservoirs and filtration stations in the south of Penang Island, as long as the southwestern area of Penang Island is not seriously polluted, the local reservoirs and filtration stations can also be used as the main place to purify seawater for drinking," Oh said. - Mkini