When C.Y. Low, a senior citizen, returned home with his wife after she was discharged from hospital, he discovered there was no running water at home.
He stored as much drinking water as he could for his wife as she was recuperating.
The problem was compounded because he could not leave the house as his wife needed his care.
The situation faced by Low, who is also Bandar Utama 1 Residents Association chairman, is not unique as the 12 residential zones in Bandar Utama have been facing unscheduled water disruptions in recent months.
The frequent occurrence has left the residents frustrated.
Another senior resident, Grace Ong, 70, cares for a person with learning disabilities.
She said she could not understand why the disruptions were happening.
“Unscheduled water cuts cause chaos, especially for those with children, the elderly and the disabled.
“We have no idea why the water cut happens often just after dinner.
“When it happens, we do not have water to wash our hands or plates.
“We would not have any water stored and most shops would be closed by the time we discover the dry taps,” said Ong.
The most recent water cuts were between May 30 and June 4, when supply was intermittent.
Some households went without water longer than others.
Prior to that, there were water disruptions on April 6 and 7.
Last year, there were water cuts on Oct 12 and 13.
A working mother of two schoolgoing children, Rose Chan, said she was often caught by surprise when she returned home with her children in the evening.
“At night, I boil water for our consumption and when there is no water, we cannot even have our basic needs met,” she said.
Chan, who lives in Bandar Utama 1, added that the water cuts usually happened during or after dinner time.
Bandar Utama 2 resident Ivan Woo said the latest unscheduled water cuts were the worst as they triggered panic among residents.
“When water was finally restored, it first reached houses on low ground and the people rushed to store water.
“This resulted in the water supply not reaching the water tanks for houses on higher ground, leaving those residents without water for longer,” said Woo.
Resident M.K. Tan from Bandar Utama 11 said the residents’ social media groups were flooded with complaints and many community leaders felt helpless because they had no answers.
Representing all the 12 BU zones, Low, said there was no key personnel from Air Selangor whom community leaders could communicate with to understand the cause of the water cuts.
“Individually, residents called the Air Selangor helpline and the response they received varied. It caused further confusion and stress among the residents,” said Low.
During the May 30 to June 4 disruption period, residents said they were told by Air Selangor that the water level was low at the Effingham Reservoir and they were urged to use the Air Selangor app to make complaints as well as check for updates.
Residents also complained that they were given different times for when their water supply would be restored.
To make matters worse, their water supply was not restored according to the times indicated by Air Selangor helpline operators.
In a social media post, Bandar Utama assemblyman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said: “We’ve received numerous complaints regarding water cuts or low water pressure.
“The earlier reason we received from Air Selangor was that they suspected there was high demand for water, causing reservoir levels to drop drastically.
“Air Selangor has optimised production from water treatment plants to mitigate the issue, and we have been informed that the water supply is almost fully restored,” she said.
Meanwhile, an Air Selangor spokesperson said there was a surge in demand at the Effingham Reservoir, resulting in water disruption between June 2 and 4.
The spokesperson said immediate action had been taken by Air Selangor to reset the supply distribution system and the issue had been resolved.
Water supply was fully restored on June 5, the spokesperson added.
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