KUALA LUMPUR, March 10  — For Azwan Mahzan, seeing even murky water flowing into his Ampang home brought a sigh of relief, after having to ration his limited supply during the almost week-long water cut.

The 39-year-old writer and photographer said it was, however, a surprise for him to have water supply resume ahead of schedule.

“I feel relieved, obviously. Water supply was estimated to have resumed tomorrow, so having it back one day early is a nice surprise,” he told Malay Mail.

When the water supply was first cut, Azwan who resides in Taman Cempaka, Ampang, said he had to send his 81-year-old mother to his brother’s place in Nilai, one state away, just so his mother would be more comfortable there than when with him.

Azwan said he had sufficient bottled water for consumption and relied mostly on his house’s water tank to cater to his daily water usage to shower and wash dishes.

 

 

Another affected consumer who rejoiced at the sight of water earlier today was Varman Raj from Gombak.

“It was very difficult in the past few days. I was wary of the cleanliness of the food, but now things are back to normal,” the 33-year-old said after noticing the water at a restaurant near his workplace in Setiawangsa.

Tech support staff Haris Ali echoed the sentiment, saying that although he has enough water for himself at his Taman Melawati home, it was still a scary experience to be without running water.

“For the record, there is nothing quite like a shower after not having one for a while,” the 36-year-old said, relating that he had to previously take “very short” showers to conserve water.

Maisara Matt Hassan, 29, from a flat in AU3, Ampang said she was relieved that she could finally wash her family’s clothes after not having washed them for four days.

The mother of four said she also had to keep watch of the shower time of her children to ensure water was used sparingly.

“I am just glad water has finally resumed and things are back normal,” said the housewife.

While water supply was restored in most parts in Ampang, Gombak, and other areas in the city, some residents in Klang and Shah Alam were still grappling with the almost depleted water storage at their homes.

Food stall operator Richard See, from Bukit Tinggi, said he would have to stop operating his chicken rice stall if the water did not resume by this evening.

“I am surprised that there is no water in Bukit Tinggi, Bandar Botanic and Bandar Parklands, but there is water supply in Kota Bayuemas.

“My relative who lives [in Kota Bayuemas] said he never got his water supply disrupted at all,” the 46-year-old man said.

See said he had to replenish his water supply every day from his relative’s house just to get his business running, but even that, he added was taking a toll on his body.

“I am not young anymore. I cannot be carrying buckets and canisters of water every day,” he said.

A check in some parts of Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam also showed consumers facing water cuts as of 12pm.

At some eateries, patrons were even barred from using toilets even if it was to wash their hands.

However, at about 4pm, some residents in Klang told Malay Mail that water supply had been restored but the pressure was still low.

Water supply disruptions in the Klang Valley started Tuesday because of critical equipment repair works at the Sungai Selangor Phase 3 water treatment plant and were initially meant to last only until Thursday.

But a surge vessel system burst at the plant on Tuesday, which injured on-site staff, extended the water cuts.

This morning, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) said water supply that is being restored in stages since last night has reached almost 73 per cent of households in Selangor.