BUTTERWORTH, Jan 26 — A team of divers is working to re-clamp the 1,350 millimetre (mm) pipeline at the riverbed of Sungai Perai, and it is expected to be completed by midnight tonight.

Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) chief executive officer, K. Pathmanathan, said that currently one of the three steel plates, each weighing 100 kilogrammes (kg), has been successfully installed, while the other two will be installed today.

He said that there was a delay in the implementation of plan A because of heavy rain and strong underwater currents yesterday, so the divers could not complete the work as scheduled, and now a new team of 10 divers has taken over the task.

"There are three steel plates which will be installed in the leaked pipe before the clamping work is carried out, but there is difficulty in bringing it into the river, due to the currents at the riverbed.

"The diving team and PBAPP are doing their best to ensure that plan A can be completed, because it is important for full supply to users, and if it is ready by midnight tonight, some users will receive water supply starting tomorrow morning,” he told reporters, after a visit to Sungai Perai today.

Pathmanantan said that PBAPP had activated an additional water supply plan since noon yesterday, involving the re-distribution of water to some users.

He added that PBAPP also activated an additional supply plan to supply water to 15,000 to 20,000 of the 120,000 consumers affected by the incident in Sungai Perai on January 23.

"The treated water is from the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (LRA), where there are two 1,350mm pipes which channel water from the Sungai Dua LRA to Penang, and PBAPP is pumping more water at high pressure through the second (undamaged) pipe to Bukit Dumbar Complex on the island,” he said.

Pathmanantan said that from Bukit Dumbar, water is being pumped back to as many affected users as possible in the area from Gelugor to south of Bayan Lepas, but at the moment, PBAPP is unable to provide an accurate list of areas.

"Water pressure is low and supply is intermittent, however, at least a number of affected users will receive some water,” he said.

The pipe leak incident at the riverbed of Sungai Perai on Tuesday was the third occurrence, after two incidents of pipe leaks were reported in December last year, and on January 12. — Bernama