K Pathmanathan, CEO of the Penang water supply corporation (PBA) said thousands of consumers would be affected in Seberang Perai’s three districts and in southern parts of Penang, Bernama reported.
He said PBA was not sure when full production of treated water would resume, as that was dependent on the water level at the Muda river returning to 2m or more.
About 252,000 consumers in Kuala Muda, Kulim and part of Baling in southern Kedah have also been affected by water supply disruptions since 5am because of damage to the Muda river barrage, causing two water treatment plants to stop operations temporarily, the Kedah water supply company said.
A crisis, says Mahdzir
Kedah Umno chief Mahdzir Khalid called for a long-term solution to the water supply problem. Speaking in Kuala Lumpur this evening, he said close to a million people would be affected by the water shortage.
“Each household has about three to four people and during a season like this there shouldn’t just be a short-term solution but a long term one instead.
“This is a crisis and immediate action should be taken,” he said at a press conference at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, where he is attending a convention of parties in the ruling unity government coalition.
Dam water being used
Pathmanathan said the raw water level at Lahar Tiang had dropped by half to 1m instead of the normal 2m. As a result, the corporation could not abstract raw water from the Muda river, which is the main source of raw water in Penang.
He said PBA was channelling water from the Mengkuang dam to support production of treated water at Sungai Dua but its limited production is not enough to cover the shortage.
“PBA is not sure when the full recovery will occur. We cannot say with certainty when water supply services will be fully stabilised for all users because we do not know exactly when the water level in Sungai Muda will recover to 2m or higher,” he said.
“We will treat as much water as possible to supply as many users as possible in Penang and users who still have water supply will need to store water for use in the next few days,” he said.
Affected areas in Penang
- Southwest district: 120,000 consumers will face water supply disruptions in 43 localities, among them Bukit Jambul, Penang airport, Gelugor, Bayan Lepas and Teluk Kumbar.
- Northeast district: 100,662 consumers in 81 localities, among them George Town, Jelutong and Gurney Drive
- Seberang Perai: 206,521 consumers in 31 localities will be affected such as the whole of Bukit Mertajam, Bukit Tengah, Juru and Bukit Minyak industrial area.