Consumers taking precautions against erratic supply schedule

PETALING JAYA: Some households are storing more water than needed during the water rationing period, causing others to brand them as “hoarders”.

However, those who are experiencing water rationing said they were merely “taking precautionary measures”.

Crystal Lee, a 26-year-old sales executive living in Taman Teratai, Cheras, said that she was doing so because there were times when the water supply did not resume on time.

With four adults in the house, Lee thinks that three big containers are sufficient for household activities such as cleaning the house and showering.

“I don’t think we are hoarding as our supply is enough to last for around 2.5 days,” she said.

“We are doing this because the resumption of supply is not consistent with the schedule provided by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas).

“For example, we were supposed to have water yesterday but woke up to dry taps,” claimed Lee.

Sharifah Shuhada Syed Ghazali, a 42-year-old baker who runs a business from her home in Ampang Hilir, is another unhappy Syabas customer.

“They should stick to the schedule. Right now, I have not had water supply for five days.

“Even on days we are scheduled to get water, we only get supply at dawn and by 8am, our taps are dry,” said Sharifah.

Marketing executive Kelly Yuen, who lives in Ara Damansara, said her family of five was living with the consequences of not storing a bit more water than actual consumption.

“If I did that, I wouldn’t have to go to my office or my aunt’s house to bathe.

“I would use the stored water until it is finished before refilling,” said Yuen, who also expressed her unhappiness over the state of rationing.

“My sister called up Syabas and they informed us our rationing was lifted.

“To our disappointment, it was cut off again after those four days and we did not store enough water,” said Yuen.

Yesterday, The Star reported that although the dams in Selangor were close to running dry, many residents were still using nearly as much water as they were when the dams were full.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Loo Took Gee said that water consumption in Selangor had dropped by only 7% despite the rationing.