KLANG, May 7 — The 800,000 consumers in 65 areas here hit by the unscheduled water supply disruption due to three mains bursting along the West Coast Expressway (WCE) project site near here on Sunday, can expect supply to be restored in stages from tonight.
Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari said work to repair the 1,400mm pipe, which is the bane of the problem, was being intensified.
He said the other pipes with diameter 600mm and 900mm had already been repaired yesterday and were back in operation.
He said earth movement at the location caused the pipes to burst.
“Repair work on the 1,400mm is expected to be completed by tonight and will be able to feed the Lipat Kajang reservoir for distribution to consumers, if there is no other damage.
“The last area to get supply will be Telok Gong which should be by 6pm tomorrow,” he told reporters after visiting the site of the problem today.
He said 74 water tankers were mobilised to bring water to the affected consumers and 20.000 five-litre mineral water bottles were distributed to meet the people’s needs, especially Muslims who started fasting yesterday.
He added that the concessionaire of the expressway was also instructed to stop work along the alignment at the location to facilitate cleaning work due to the earth movement.
The Malaysian Highway Authority, Public Works Department and related agencies were also asked to evaluate the quality of work along the alignment to ensure there was no repeat of mains bursting, he said.
Earlier today the Selangor state executive councillor (Exco) in charge, Izham Hashim had said the delay in restoring supply was due to earth movements at the location and that the authorities and WCE were conducting a joint probe to find out the cause.
“When it comes to earth movement, it is definitely serious, what more the sizes of the mains are 1400mm, 900mm and 600mm.
“We have also instructed WCE to reduce the load from the structures of the expressway there on the soil to prevent any untoward incidents,” he told reporters after visiting the site of the burst pipes.
Almost 90 per cent of consumers in this district were hit by the unscheduled disruption.
Izham said the state government and WCE were doing all they could to “fix the problem”.
Meanwhile, Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) Communications and Consumer Relations Department head Abdul Raof Ahmad said once the situation was rectified, supply would be restored in stages.
He said all affected areas would have supply restored within 24 hours when the repairs were done.
Consumers needing assistance can contact 15300 (SMS) or send a WhatsApp message to either 019-281 6793 or 019-280 0919.
The latest updates on the situation can be accessed at www.syabas.com.my, Facebook ‘Air Selangor’ and Twitter @air_selangor. — Bernama
