'Don't link water woes with restructuring exercise'

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui today called on the Selangor government not to associate the water woes in Gombak and Kuala Lumpur with the restructuring of the state's water service industry.

Instead, he said the state government should focus on helping Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas), in which it has 30 per cent equity, to solve the problem immediately.

"It should be done for the sake of the people in Klang Valley who are badly affected by the water supply disruption," he said in a statement here on Friday.

Chin explained the water woes in Gombak and Kuala Lumpur began when a system malfunction was detected at the Wangsa Maju pump house on the evening of Dec 28, causing approximately 89,760 accounts, involving 448,800 households to experience water supply disruption the following day.

Although it was fixed almost immediately, the system malfunctioned again on Jan 1.

"On the same day, the Pudu Hulu Baru pump house also experienced a glitch and worsened the situation," he said.

Chin said the repair works at both the Wangsa Maju and Pudu Hulu Baru pump houses had been completed on Jan 2 and 3 respectively.

He said the water production at the Wangsa Maju pump house was controlled at 180 million litres per day (MLD) even though the daily demand was between 200 and 210 MLD.

The minister said the move to control water production at the pump house was taken with the aim at reducing the risk of another system malfunction.

"Since the pump house is producing 180 MLD, a total of 140,000 households or 28,000 accounts will continue to experience water disruption due to the water shortage of 30 MLD," he said.

Chin said the actual cause for the glitch was being ascertained by the National Water Service Commission (SPAN).

He said SPAN was also in the midst of looking into Syabas' proposal to upgrade the Wangsa Maju pump house to prevent recurrence of the problem.

"The move is vital pending construction of the Wangsa Maju Baharu pump house by the state government, which is expected to be completed in 2015," he added.