GEORGE TOWN – Some 600,000 consumers in several localities in Penang continue to suffer from low water pressure or dry taps as the state grapples with a looming water crisis amid a heatwave.
Currently, however, supply disruption is due to a “sensor failure” at a floodgate of Sg Muda – the main water source for the state and neighbouring Kedah.
As of 9am, households in Bukit Jambul and Sg Ara, parts of Bayan Lepas right up to Balik Pulau, and several neighbourhoods in Prai reported no water or low pressure.
Around 600,000 consumers are affected, based on the residential areas listed by the Penang Water Supply Corp (PBAPP) on its site, including commercial and industrial estates.
State Welfare executive councillor Phee Boon Poh shared photos and details of how the state’s two city councils have been deploying water tankers, while PBAPP engineers have been working around the clock to restore optimum supply.
Phee said that volunteer fire and rescue service units have also been mobilised to provide fresh water to high-rise residents.
Locals, however, bemoaned the water cuts in the midst of searing hot weather.
“This time, we feel the sting even more as the water cuts come during a severe heatwave.
“People are suffering heat strokes, so we need our water concessionaires to be vigilant in such times,” said accountant Bernard Lim when interviewed here.
Another consumer, who wanted to be known as Jeffrey, said that PBAPP needs to set up proper emergency measures when dealing with water supply issues because of the erratic conduct of its neighbour, Kedah, which supplies most of the state’s water.
Yesterday, the main water treatment plant in Penang at Sg Dua was operating at only 60% capacity due to a technical default from the intake station in Lahar Tiang following supply interruptions in southern Kedah intake stations.
Raw water is being drawn down from the expanded Mengkuang Dam for channelling to treatment plants.
PBAPP is also pumping as much treated water as possible from the Sg Dua plant, where production has reached 90%, to supply areas in Seberang Prai and on Penang island.
Meanwhile, Kedah Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar urged Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Nor to be apolitical over the issue of water supply, as his state is affected as well.
Mahfuz urged Sanusi, who is from PAS, to focus more on resolving the issue rather than trying to become a political “hero,” in view of coming state elections in Kedah and Penang.
“There is a time for politicking but there is more time needed to govern effectively. Sanusi needs to devote more time on resolving the issue. It is about proper distribution and channelling of the water. It is not about politics.” – The Vibes, May 15, 2023
