ISKANDAR PUTERI – Johor will seek the National Water Services Commission’s (SPAN) help to replace some 6,000km of old water pipes in the state.
State executive councillor in charge of works, transport, and infrastructure Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said that he will be meeting SPAN.
There currently is a RM280 million yearly allocation for pipe replacement work, but it only covers 234km of pipes. Under this arrangement, it would take 10 years to replace 6,000km of old water pipes.
The state has 26,000km of water pipes, and the old pipes are susceptible to burst if there is strong pressure, or if they are affected by projects that require digging.
Fazlil said contractors use a utility-mapping system to scan and locate pipes before commencing ground-digging works, but some pipes are placed deeper than the usual 5m depth and cannot be detected.
“Therefore, people are saying that contractors always hit the water pipes every time they repair roads or carry out other projects,” the Bukit Pasir assemblyman told the press on the sidelines of the Johor state assembly today.
He said this was one cause of water disruption issues, especially in Pasir Gudang.
Fazli said that state water operator Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd has been asked to come up with new standard operating procedures to connect broken pipelines with other working pipes to ensure that clean treated supply to end users are not affected whenever piping problems arise.
In October, some 120,000 users in Pasir Gudang experienced water supply disruptions for five days after a pipe burst during main pipe installation work by Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd near Persiaran Seri Alam, Masair. – The Vibes, December 8, 2022
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