WATER consumers in Penang are advised to store water and be prepared for unscheduled water supply interruptions due to the recent flash flood in Baling, Kedah, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Chow, who is also the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chairman, explained a similar incident had happened previously in Baling, impacting the turbidity levels of raw water in Sungai Muda.
“As of 4am today, the turbidity level of raw water at the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant has exceeded over 1,500 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units). This is above the normal turbidity level of 1,000 NTU.
“As a result, the water production from the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (Sungai Dua WTP) has been reduced to 30% of its capacity.
“PBAPP has already released 300 million litres per day (MLD) of water from Mengkuang Dam to support the water production in Sungai Dua WTP. However, this is still insufficient as we need at least 1,000 MLD.
“So, we expect more areas in Penang will be affected and I would like to urge all Penangites to store enough water and use it wisely,” Chow told reporters when asked about the matter today at the Penang Chinese Town Hall (PCTH).
Meanwhile, PBAPP chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan, in his latest statement, said PBAPP has been working round-the-clock to address a raw water issue related to Sungai Muda since midnight until this morning.
“Muddy (highly turbid) flood water from the recent floods that occurred in Baling has compelled PBAPP to reduce treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP.
“The Sungai Dua WTP is the largest and most important WTP in Penang. Its treated water is supplied to about 465,004 water consumers in Seberang Perai and Penang island.
“So, when we detected highly turbid water at the Lahar Tiang Intake, PBAPP was compelled to reduce raw water abstraction from Sungai Muda.
“This action has caused treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP to drop by 30%, from an average of 1019 MLD to 715 MLD at 9am today,” he said.
Pathmanathan added that this reduction in treated water supply has affected approximately 70% of its consumers.
“Among the primary areas such as George Town, South Bukit Dumbar to Balik Pulau (Pulau Betong, Bukit Penara, Pondok Upeh and Bandar Balik Pulau), Seberang Perai Tengah (areas south of the Bukit Minyak Pump House) and Seberang Perai Selatan.
“PBAPP’s emergency response plan (ERP) has been activated since 4pm yesterday and the ERP team is working hard to restore water supply services, in stages, from 8pm today when the production at Sungai Dua WTP is expected to fully recover.
“Rest assured, we are doing our best to restore water supply in all affected areas. We will continue to provide updates on this situation through our official Facebook page and mass media releases,” he said.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Siti Nuratikah Rahmat and Vekenesvaran Magandran
Video by Law Suun Ting