GEORGE TOWN -- The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) expects supply to be restored to normal by early today in most parts of the state after mitigation works were completed to clear the intake plant at Sg Muda of any water turbidity or muddiness.
Following another round of major floods in upstream Baling, near the Sg Muda water catchment area in Kedah recently, turbidity was detected in the raw water streaming towards the Lahar Tiang main intake station in Kepala Batas.
The area supplies 80% of the water supply to Penang's consumers.
The turbidity of the raw water from Sungai Muda at the Lahar Tiang Intake has dropped to 547.9 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units) by this morning.
PBAPP is now abstracting raw water at 100% capacity at Lahar Tiang for pumping to the Sungai Dua water treatment plant, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in a statement.
As of early today, the raw water turbidity is improving, he said..
The treatment plant production capacity is now 94.6% and water supply services to 391,239 of 465,004 affected water consumers in Seberang Perai and Penang island have been normalised.
Treated water production at the treatment plant has also reached 94.6% of maximum capacity.
PBAPP’s emergency response team , headed by its chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan, is targeting to completely normalise water supply services by later today.
Chow explained that this is an “unscheduled water supply interruption” caused by an external mishap with factors that are beyond the control of PBAPP and the state government.
The incident originated from the flash floods in Baling.
PBAPP’s emergency response plan team made the decision to reduce treated water production at the Sungai Dua plant because the turbidity of raw water from Sungai Muda was abnormally high, he said.
PBAPP had to prioritise public safety because the treatment plant is not designed to safely process raw water with a turbidity rating above 1,000 NTU to produce safe treated water for public consumption.
PBAPP’s round-the-clock monitoring of the raw water quality at Lahar Tiang since September 22 and pre-emptive action to draw down raw water from the expanded Mengkuang Dam have helped to lessen the impact of this incident, Chow added. -- The Vibes, September 30, 2023.
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