MIRI – Some 200,000 people in Sibu district are hit with a water supply disruption as a result of the logjam in Kapit some 300km away.
Residents took to social media to complain that their taps ran dry in the early hours today.
Ting Kiong Sing, who lives in a flat in Sibujaya, said the supply disruption was sudden.
“The water pressure has been very low since yesterday, and today, there is no more water. I called the water board, and they said their treatment plants are affected by the lack of water intake.”
The Sibu Water Board in a statement said operations at the Salim and Bukit Lima treatment plants were disrupted around 3am due to high mud content at their intake sources.
“The intake sources are linked to the river affected by the logjam. We are gradually restoring water intake after taking measures to remove the silt. The water supply will gradually normalise.”
Tonnes of timber debris are clogging up rivers in Kapit division, especially Sg Baleh, which flows to the Baleh hydroelectric dam.
Save Sarawak Rivers chairman Peter Kallang has called for an investigation into the recurrence.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Masing has blamed the logjam on timber operators.
“The impact is going to be more devastating as the log debris heads to the Baleh Dam construction area,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The Baleh assemblyman said the state government should terminate the contracts of errant operators if they cannot properly manage logging.
Pictures taken by villagers along Sg Baleh show its tributaries choked by logs and wood debris. It is the second major logjam to hit Kapit this year. – The Vibes, August 23, 2021
