Saturday October 18, 2008
Crisis looms as taps run dry
Story and photos by GEETHA KRISHNAN
HULU Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang residents are feeling the full brunt of the water crisis following the Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) damaged pipe incident on Thursday.
The morning incident at Kampung Revolusi Hijau in Sepang caused damage to three major pipes channelling water to the Semenyih plant, cutting water supply to 350,000 residents.
The disruption, said to be caused by illegal sand-mining activities and erosion, affects some 30,000 households in Hulu Langat; 25,000 households in Kuala Langat and 20,000 households in Sepang.
It would take three days to a week for supply to resume.
Many residents were caught off-guard by the disruption while those alerted through the media began storing water and taking other adequate measures.
Filling up: Taman Utama, Semenyih resident Tan Hong storing water after being informed of the water cut.
Section 4, Bandar Baru Bangi resident Azian Muhamad Ariff said the water storage tank in her house had only enough for a day’s supply.
“I woke up at 5.30am on Friday morning to discover we had no water. My family has to go to my sister’s house in Subang now to bathe,” she said.
The sudden disruption left Jalan Bangi Lama residents in a lurch, forcing them to wait for Syabas tankers. Worse still, no schedules were given.
Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi resident Zelda Mohd Zamri said her busy work schedule meant she could not store water and had to wait for the tankers.
“I was told by neighbours that the tankers arrived between 10pm and midnight on Thursday night,” she said.
Prior to the disruption, Taman Utama in Semenyih experienced many water cuts.
“Even then, the tankers turned up late at night. Now, we have tubs of water on stand-by but it looks like we have to spend more money eating out again,” Tan Hong said.
M. Karteeswari said Syabas had never informed Taman Utama residents of the frequent water cuts.
“The water supplied to us from the tankers is usually foul-tasting. My family bathed with the water once and we came down with rashes that required expensive injections,” she said.
Meanwhile, Hulu Langat and Sepang residents said they had water and the pressure was normal.
In its statement, Syabas said water tankers would be despatched to 35 areas in Hulu Langat; 27 areas in Kuala Langat and 13 areas in Sepang. Thirty-three tankers have been mobilised with nine lorries on stand-by and 438 static tanks.
A 24-hour crisis centre has been set up and more information can be obtained via the toll-free Puspel customer service line at 1-800-88-5252.
Crisis looms as taps run dry
Story and photos by GEETHA KRISHNAN
HULU Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang residents are feeling the full brunt of the water crisis following the Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) damaged pipe incident on Thursday.
The morning incident at Kampung Revolusi Hijau in Sepang caused damage to three major pipes channelling water to the Semenyih plant, cutting water supply to 350,000 residents.
The disruption, said to be caused by illegal sand-mining activities and erosion, affects some 30,000 households in Hulu Langat; 25,000 households in Kuala Langat and 20,000 households in Sepang.
It would take three days to a week for supply to resume.
Many residents were caught off-guard by the disruption while those alerted through the media began storing water and taking other adequate measures.
Filling up: Taman Utama, Semenyih resident Tan Hong storing water after being informed of the water cut.
Section 4, Bandar Baru Bangi resident Azian Muhamad Ariff said the water storage tank in her house had only enough for a day’s supply.
“I woke up at 5.30am on Friday morning to discover we had no water. My family has to go to my sister’s house in Subang now to bathe,” she said.
The sudden disruption left Jalan Bangi Lama residents in a lurch, forcing them to wait for Syabas tankers. Worse still, no schedules were given.
Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi resident Zelda Mohd Zamri said her busy work schedule meant she could not store water and had to wait for the tankers.
“I was told by neighbours that the tankers arrived between 10pm and midnight on Thursday night,” she said.
Prior to the disruption, Taman Utama in Semenyih experienced many water cuts.
“Even then, the tankers turned up late at night. Now, we have tubs of water on stand-by but it looks like we have to spend more money eating out again,” Tan Hong said.
M. Karteeswari said Syabas had never informed Taman Utama residents of the frequent water cuts.
“The water supplied to us from the tankers is usually foul-tasting. My family bathed with the water once and we came down with rashes that required expensive injections,” she said.
Meanwhile, Hulu Langat and Sepang residents said they had water and the pressure was normal.
In its statement, Syabas said water tankers would be despatched to 35 areas in Hulu Langat; 27 areas in Kuala Langat and 13 areas in Sepang. Thirty-three tankers have been mobilised with nine lorries on stand-by and 438 static tanks.
A 24-hour crisis centre has been set up and more information can be obtained via the toll-free Puspel customer service line at 1-800-88-5252.
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