[UPDATED] Muddy Baling floods affect Penang’s water supply

GEORGE TOWN – Parts of Penang are apparently affected by water supply disruptions today with some of the blame accorded to massive floods that happened in Baling.

On Monday, the district in neighbouring state Kedah was hit with muddy floods that caused several deaths and property destruction in Kg Iboi.

Social media has been set aflutter over the disruption with a consumer named Zikrullah Ismail implying that Penang will be badly affected.

He pointed to the water intake pump stations in Kedah’s Lahar Tiang and Kulim Hi-Tech Park, which are about 4km from Penang’s Pinang Tunggal pump station, having been shut down yesterday due to a muddy deluge.

The two northern states rely on water from the Sg Muda which passes between both of them.

Zikrullah said that the water flowing into Sg Muda may be too muddy and full of debris which may make it difficult for processing into drinking water.

Among the areas affected were residential zones around Green Lane on the island. Seri Delima assemblyperson Syerleena Abdul Rashid confirmed this, saying that efforts are underway to contact the Penang Water Supply Corporation over the matter.

This is the first time that floods in neighbouring Kedah have affected supply in Penang, raising much concern here.

In an update at about 4.30pm, the Penang government informed the state’s water treatment plant in Sg Dua had to be shut down due to the Baling floods.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who is chairman of Penang Water Supply Corporation, said the high turbidity of raw water after the disaster caused the plant’s operation to be stopped for four hours from 8am to 12 noon today.

“The raw water supply obtained from Sg Muda was found to have been contaminated with sludge and sand causing the water treatment plant to not function properly,” he said at a press conference in his office.

While waiting for the situation to improve, Penang will depend on the supply of raw water stored at the Mengkuang Dam in Seberang Perai, whose capacity is expected to last for 100 days, to meet the needs of the entire population in the state.

“Water from the Mengkuang Dam is being sent to the Sg Dua Water Treatment Plant and nearby plants to continue the operations of the plants to treat water so that the water supply can be delivered to consumers,” he said.

He added that the Mengkuang Dam supplies 85% of raw water for the state while another 15% is supplied by the Teluk Bahang Dam and Air Itam, both on the island, during crises or emergencies.

On a separate matter, Chow said the Seberang Perai City Council and Penang Island City Council, as well as several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have initiated aid missions to help flood victims in Kedah.

“Several non-government organisations including the volunteer fire brigade safely arrived there yesterday to extend emergency assistance to the victims involved.”

The Seberang Perai City Council team left at around 2pm today with tank trucks, cranes, ro-ro garbage trucks and cleaning equipment, including chainsaws and portable water sprayers, he said. – The Vibes, July 6, 2022.