Under control: Two hydraulic mobile pumps at Kuala Senggarang in Batu Pahat help water flow out to sea, from flood affected areas around Parit Karjo and Parit Raja. — Bernama
BATU PAHAT: Installing mobile water pumps has been a challenge for the Johor Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) as the river water is still at a dangerous level, especially in the Batu Pahat district.
Its director Azren Khalil said the department needed to ensure that the rivers do not overflow the banks and that the location to instal the mobile pump was suitable.
As at yesterday morning, he said four of the 14 water stations in the district were still at a dangerous level, namely the Bekok Dam, Sungai Simpang Kiri in Seri Medan, Parit Sulong and Sungai Senggarang here.
He added that 15 pumps were installed in Batu Pahat – four at the Kuala Senggarang water gate, Parit Bintang (two), Parit Jambul (two) and one each at Parit Londang, Parit Asam Kumbang, Parit Lapis, Parit Sulong, Sungai Kajang, Parit Separap, Botanical Garden in Seri Medan, some of which were installed in 2011.
“These pumps are used to dump water into the river or the sea but as long as the water level exceeds the riverbanks, we will not pump because it defeats the purpose,” he said, according to Bernama.
Azren said 31 mobile pumps were also installed in the districts of Mersing, Johor Baru, Tangkak, Muar, Pontian and Kota Tinggi to address the flood water situation in Johor.
He said the pumps with a capacity of between five and 20 cusec (cubic feet per second) would operate to pump water for four hours and would “rest” for one hour to ensure the engine did not overwork.
With the use of this mobile pump, he expected floodwaters to recede within two weeks to a month in Batu Pahat.
Azren said the placement of these mobile pumps would have an impact on reducing floodwater levels in Batu Pahat, especially in low-lying areas.
“So far, the flood situation in Batu Pahat has started to show a decreasing trend, even though there are still areas that are starting to flood due to the movement of flood water from upstream areas,” he said.
The situation of the floodwater level is, however, getting under control, compared with the beginning of the floods on Feb 28, he added.
As at 8am yesterday, the state disaster management committee recorded a total of 42,638 flood victims in Johor, with Batu Pahat having the highest at 39,870.
