Households in Cambodia's Sihanoukville city face water shortage after dam burst

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 8 (Xinhua): Households in the coastal city of Sihanoukville in southwest Cambodia's Preah Sihanouk province are facing a shortage of water after a dam burst, officials said on Sunday.

A dam at the Kbal Chhay waterfall area in Sihanoukville collapsed Saturday night, causing damage to a pumping station and a pipe flowing water from the reservoir to one of the city's two water treatment plants, Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun said.

"The dam burst has halted the operation of one water treatment plant, so it reduced our total water supply capacity by 50 percent," he said in a footage posted on the province's Facebook page.

The governor calls on local residents in the coastal city to use water thriftily these days until the problem is fixed.

Preah Sihanouk provincial spokesman Kheang Phearom said the dam burst caused no harm to people, saying that authorities would try to solve the problem within three days.

He said the cause of the collapse is being investigated. - Xinhua