Penang residents grateful water supply restored according to schedule

BALIK PULAU, Jan 14 — Penang residents, especially those residing in the end-of-line distribution (EoL) neighbourhoods and highland areas in the southern part of the island, are grateful as water supply is being received according to the schedule set by the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP).

Residents in Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas, Batu Maung, Teluk Kumbar, and Gertak Sanggul were previously concerned that water supply in their areas would be delayed because, usually, if there is a disruption in water supply, they will receive water two to three days later compared to other places.

For example, during the incident of a pipe leak at the bottom of Sungai Perai, Butterworth on Jan 18, most of the affected areas had started receiving water after two days, but residents in EoL areas only received water after four to five days.

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A resident in Teluk Kumbar, Mohd Azman Ismail, 50, expressed his gratitude to PBAPP and the state government for making efforts to restore water supply as scheduled, even though there was a new pipe leakage in Sungai Perai two days ago.

Mohd Azman said the water supply in his house was fully restored by 2am this morning and he realised this after waking up to go to the toilet.

“My family did store water in large barrels because we were worried that there would be no water for many days because before, if there was no water, we were the slowest place to get the supply (water), but this time it was really on schedule.

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“Thanks also to PBAPP and the state government who worked hard to ensure that water supply followed the schedule. Moreover, during the water shortage, many water tankers, including those from the Volunteer Fire Brigade, came to deliver water in our area,” he told Bernama today

For Tang Weng Kit, 45, who lives in Bayan Lepas, he and his family also thanked PBAPP and the state government for carrying out their duties well during the replacement of two 1.2-metre control valve units that leaked at the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant.

He said that early notifications about the scheduled water supply disruption had been very helpful, especially for him to store water and make early plans to deal with it.

“This time, the water supply disruption was not as bad as during the Sungai Perai incident because we were prepared, and we had enough water stored since many water tankers were provided in the residential areas,” said the factory engineer.

Zainuddin Zainul, 34, said that a well-organised plan and prompt action by the PBAPP team had facilitated the restoration of water supply to residents in the state, especially those in EoL areas.

“Alhamdulillah, congratulations and thanks to PBAPP, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, and all those involved in repair and water restoration work for the comfort of the entire population of this state. Best and well done to all who worked hard to ensure that the work ran smoothly according to the schedule,” said the resident of Teluk Kumbar.

Meanwhile, Bayan Lepas assemblyman Datuk Azrul Mahathir Aziz said that water supply in his area was fully restored at 5am today.

He also expressed his gratitude to all parties, especially PBAPP and the state government, who were concerned by sending water tankers to ensure that residents in the area did not experience water supply disruption throughout the four-day period of the scheduled water supply disruption since last Wednesday.

PBAPP announced that it had successfully restored water supply to 590,000 total affected users according to the schedule set since last Wednesday, today.

In a statement, PBAPP announced that the third and fourth stages of water supply restoration involving 99.5 per cent of the 590,000 affected users in Seberang Perai and on the island part and the remaining 0.5 per cent of affected users in the EoL neighbourhoods and highland areas in the southern part of the island were both fully completed at 6am today.

The scheduled water supply disruption was caused by the replacement of two 1.2m control valve units that leaked at the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant. — Bernama