THE Water Department is keeping tabs on the goings-on in one part of Sandakan to mitigate the problems caused by the intermittent supply which some residential and commercial consumers off Mile 3½ Jalan Utara have been receiving for some time.
A spokesman for the agency said damage to separate distribution mains servicing Taman Melrose and Bandar Melrose nearby were partly to blame for this problem.
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He said both pipes had a diameter of 150mm and were of a Mid-Steel-Cement Lined (MSCL) variety.
“The burst in the housing area involved a pipe-crossing,” he said, adding that between five to six of the Department’s technicians attended to this problem shortly after the leak was discovered on Tuesday.
He said this work was complicated because the affected part of the supply line was buried beneath a verge in the area.
“An excavator was deployed to excavate a trench so that the team could reach the pipe.”
In the case of Bandar Melrose, he said the burst main was located outside a shop at the commercial centre.
“We were aware of the leak much earlier but negotiations at the site between the unit-owner and our staff prevented the Department from dealing with the damage right away.”
Nevertheless, he said repairs to the pair of MSCL pipes were successfully completed late on Tuesday afternoon.
Consumers in the neighbourhood, as well as the shop-lots regained their tap water in stages, according to him, once sufficient pressure had built up in the distribution line.
The spokesman said this was not the first time that a Bandar Melrose main had burst this month.
“This previously happened beside a different unit a week ago.”
On top of the leaks, the spokesman said a drop in output from the Bukit Garam Water Treatment Plant also took a toll on the water situation in Taman Melrose and Bandar Melrose.
“Production ground to a halt for a few hours yesterday to accommodate work to repair a raw water-pump at the Plant.”
Under normal circumstances, about 30 million litres of treated water were produced daily at the Plant, according to him.
The Department issued a notice on Wednesday at 1.30pm, which was circulated over social media, to alert consumers in parts of Sandakan and Kinabatangan to prepare for potential disruptions which might arise because of the temporary shutdown.
Besides Taman Melrose, the other residential properties at the former district, which were impacted by the shutdown, included Taman Villa Vista, Taman Seri Labuk, Taman Mawar, Taman Ramin, Taman Sibuga, Taman Sentosa, Taman Chrysanthemum, Taman Melanta and Taman Poh Hing.
Sandakan rural communities in Kg Segaliud, Kg Garinono, Kg Ulu Dusun, Kg Kitagas, Kg Lung Pagung, Kg Sungai Kapor, Kg Sungai Tiram, Kg Rosalinda, Kg Desa Indah, Kg Sungai Api, Kg Pyon, Kg Jawa 1, Kg Jawa2, Kg Sin Kan Kee, Kg Gelam, Kg Air and Kg Bokara also felt the pinch.
“Regular operations resumed at Bukit Garam a few hours on Wednesday after the notice was circulated to the public,” the spokesman said.
He said this was the third instance of the Plant’s operations being temporarily halted due to a pump problem this month. Similar repairs were made by the agency on January 19 and January 5, according to him.
On top attending to the pumps, he said output from Bukit Garam was reduced for a time on January 17.
“The reduction occurred due to the low levels of the water in the Kinabatangan River.”
On feedback from a Taman Melrose consumer that repairs to the affected mains might have been because of a lack of manpower on the Department’s part, the spokesman said this was not true.
The homeowner claimed to have lost his supply for a week.
“A check of our records shows that the Department was not informed about any dry taps in the neighbourhood,” the spokesman said. “A tanker would have been sent to deliver treated water to our consumers here if we had known about their plight.”
Nevertheless in light of what had been transpiring in the housing area, he said the Department’s technicians had been asked to make periodic checks on the supply to the property.
