Department monitoring water supply to Tanjung Aru
Published on: Wednesday, February 21, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
A Department staff checks on the strength of the supply in the distribution pipes near some condominiums on Jalan Aru.
THE Water Department is monitoring the supply to Tanjung Aru, following feedback about the intermittent tap water at some locations in the area.
A laundromat operator in the town bemoaned the weak pressure of the incoming supply to her shop, saying that she was forced to close her business for a few days recently as insufficient water was entering the storage tanks for the premises.
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A Kg Tanjung Aru Lama homeowner also spoke out about the supply which had been trickling into his kitchen and bathrooms over the same period.
Both individuals provided Hotline with the pertinent details, including their address, which were forwarded to the agency.
The water pressure inside these distribution mains near the town was deemed to be acceptable.
A Department spokesman said these supply woes partly stemmed from the falling water levels at its R2B reservoir on Bukit Pewira in Kepayan from which consumers around the town draw their supply.
“This contributed to the poor strength of the water at some of the affected premises, while at others not even a drop of water was available,” he said.
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“The supply was temporarily diverted from elsewhere to the reservoir to mitigate these problems.”
He said treated water was sent to a five-star resort in the area at one point.
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“Three tanker-trips were made to this establishment, with about 30,000 litres of water delivered in each instance.”
The valves along the supply-line in the area were also adjusted accordingly to boost the strength of the supply to consumers around the town, according to him.
“We re-calibrated the water-balancing and the pressure-management settings.
The spokesman said the agency’s technicians later made random checks of the distribution line in the town and along Jalan Aru.
“They cleared any air-locks inside sections of the mains and tried to establish on the pressure of the water at the time.
He said its staff had to access the chamber for a “sluice valve” while carrying out a check in one instance.
“They found the water pressure in Tanjung Aru to be acceptable while the strength of the supply near some condominiums was considered to be quite strong.”
He said the input to R2B had been inconsistent due to the “rapidly growing demand” for tap water around Kota Kinabalu.
“The output from our Moyog and Kasigui Treatment Plants can barely keep up with the needs of our growing consumer-base in the City.
He said about 185 million litres was produced daily (MLD) at the first Plant with 53 MLD generated at the second.
“We are deliberating over how best to cater to the supply needs of the many thousands around the State Capital, including Tanjung Aru, who depend on us.”
Despite admitting that there was no quick-fix to the shortage, the spokesman said the agency was keeping an eye on the situation to ensure its consumers around the town received a supply.
He said its personnel had also been asked to be more mindful of any incidents of water theft taking place there.
The spokesman said the Department had been facing an uphill task trying to catch the culprits red-handed.
“We have been carrying out disconnection exercises here regularly.
“Our personnel remove the illegal connections made to our distribution mains only to find new ones attached to the pipes a few days later.”
He said the Department was in the midst of brainstorming on how best to counter this pilferage.
“We do have a potential plan for overcoming this problem and are just waiting to receive an allocation before putting it in action.”
The spokesman said anyone who made “an unlawful connection of a service pipe to a public mains or to another service pipe serving another premises” could be deemed to have contravened the Water Supply Enactment 2003.
“Offenders risk having to settle a fine for as much RM100,000, serve a jail term of up to one year or both.”
In cases where the wrongdoing was committed by a corporate body, he said the management could be held liable for a fine of up to RM500,000.
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