ALOR STAR – The Ampang Jajar Sg Muda operations, which experienced a technical malfunction to the supervisory control and data acquisition system causing a control gate to open without any warning last Saturday night, is expected to be fully restored by today.
The Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, in a statement yesterday, said the replacement of all 14 actuators would be expedited to ensure that the system is functional and operating properly.
According to the statement, the Drainage and Irrigation Department is conducting a detailed investigation to identify the actual cause of the technical disruption to the gate control system.
“All agencies in the states involved will be monitoring the situation to ensure that water sources and supply will be restored in stages to all areas, including at the end of the supply distribution system, by May 17,” read the statement.
Ampang Jajar Sg Muda has 14 control gates that are opened and closed when needed to control the release of water and prevent flooding.
A control gate that had opened without warning caused the water in Sg Muda to recede to 0.67m from 1.85m and the Sg Muda River Basin Office took immediate action to close the gate manually at 7.30am last Sunday.
On Sunday, it was reported that about 252,000 user accounts in three districts, namely Kuala Muda, Kulim and parts of Baling, were affected by unscheduled water supply disruption due to the sudden drop in the Sg Muda water level.
Meanwhile, Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd (Sada) has installed a submersible pump to enable the Kulim Hi-Tech, Sg Petani and Pinang Tunggal water treatment plants to operate.
“Sada has also applied for water tanker assistance through the National Water Services Commission and its water tankers have been mobilised to assist consumers in the affected areas,” read the statement.
Meanwhile, Sada, through its official Facebook page, informed that the Pinang Tunggal, Kulim Hi-Tech and Sg Petani water treatment plants are now fully restored and have started to operate at the maximum rate from yesterday. – Bernama, May 17, 2023
