Water supply in all areas affected by Sungai Muda drop to resume by Wednesday (May 17)

GEORGE TOWN: The water supply in all areas affected by the sudden drop of water level of Sungai Muda will resume by Wednesday.

The Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday (May 16) that the recovery includes the ends of distribution lines.

ALSO READ: Fault in barrage gate caused Sungai Muda to come close to going dry, says Kedah MB

"Remedial action to raise the water level of Sungai Muda has been made by releasing water from the Beris Dam since Sunday (May 14),” said the ministry.

It added that the water from the Beris Dam was released at its maximum flow rate of 15m3/s until water in Sungai Muda reached its minimum water level of 1.85m.

The ministry then said that as a short-term measure, all gate operations at Ampang Jajar Sungai Muda would switch from the automatic to the manual mode throughout the duration of this dry season.

"To ensure that the system can function and operate properly, the replacement of all 14 lifters (actuators) will be accelerated,” it added.

The ministry also said that the Irrigation and Drainage Department is conducting a detailed investigation to identify the actual cause of the technical malfunction of the door control system.

"With all agencies working to monitor the matter, water supply is expected to gradually recover fully in all areas including at ends of the supply distribution system by Wednesday," it added.

It then said that Syarikat Air Darul Aman (SADA) has installed a 'Submersible Pump' to keep water treatment plants (WTP) in Kulim HiTech, Sungai Petani & Pinang Tunggal functioning.

"SADA has also requested the help of 12 water tankers and 23 contract trucks through the National Water Service Commission (SPAN) to support operators and users in need,” said the ministry.

"The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) also released water from Mengkuang Dam on Sunday at a rate of 13,000m3/hour and for Sungai Dua WTP to process 800 million litres daily (MLD) of treated water," it added

The ministry also said that the water supply companies of various states such as Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Melaka, Terengganu and Perak also stepped in to support forms of water tankers coordinated by SPAN.

It added that the supply had started to recover, as the Kulim HiTech WTP was 100% operational by 8pm while the Sungai Petani and Pinang Tunggal WTP were operating at 45% by 10pm.

The ministry also said that the raw water pump at Pinang Tunggal was operating at 70% capacity at 10pm on that day.

ALSO READ: Two water treatment plants in Kedah back in operation

On Saturday, a fault in the automated barrage of Sungai Muda caused it to open and drain the river uncontrollably out to sea.

Sungai Muda is the main raw water resource for Kedah and Penang, and as such the drop affected over a million people in both states.

By sunrise on Sunday, Sungai Muda had fallen from its normal level of 3m to as low as 50cm.

A river barrage is a dam with many gates.

Its function is to slow down a river’s flow to sea and keep water levels upriver high for irrigation and water intake.