MIRI – Another water supply disruption has affected the Miri district today, affecting an estimated 300,000 residents in this northern Sarawak hub.
The incident affected up to 80% of the district which has a population of 350,000 due to a rupture at the main water supply pipeline during predawn hours today.
This latest incident happened six days after another water pipeline was damaged due to construction works along the Pan Borneo Highway stretch between Miri and Bintulu.
Piasau state assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting today said he has received a deluge of calls from affected residents.
He said the main pipeline into Miri had burst at one of its points, and the water authority severed the supply to carry out urgent repairs.
“Unfortunately, the supply was shut off at around 5am. That left almost everyone unprepared as they had no time to store water.
“Many woke up to dry taps and could not even prepare themselves properly for work.
“I have called the management of the Northern Sarawak Water Supply Board to deploy mobile water tankers into the streets, and housing and commercial areas soonest,” he said.
Ting said this latest incident affects even more people compared to the disruption last week.
The board’s management informed that the cut will last until tomorrow evening at the least, he added.
On June 10, a major piped-water supply disruption affected more than 250,000 people in the Miri district in northern Sarawak.
The shutdown was caused by serious damages to the main supply pipeline located along the Pan Borneo Highway.
Miri MP Dr Teo Yu Keng had then told The Vibes that almost three-quarters of the whole district of Miri were affected. – The Vibes, June 16, 2022