200,000 consumers in Penang hit by water cut due to burst pipe in Sg Perai

BUTTERWORTH: Consumers in Penang's south-west district and Seberang Perai experienced water supply disruption on Tuesday (Dec 19)after a section of pipe measuring 1.35m in circumference located at the bottom of Sungai Perai burst on Monday (Dec 18) morning.

Penang Water Supply Corporation chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said that underwater welding works to repair the burst pipe are scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

"The Penang Water Supply Corporation is implementing an emergency response plan to repair the damage to 1.35m water pipe which runs across the riverbed after the pipe was found to be leaking at around 8.26 am yesterday (Dec 18),” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that the corporation has appointed a specialist contractor based in Port Klang, Selangor, to conduct a probe into the incident, as the pipe is located across the riverbed. Sungai Perai is approximately 3.5m deep.

Pathmanathan said that commercial divers from Port Klang arrived at the scene on Monday evening and carried out an underwater inspection at 10.30 pm.

He added that the Penang Water Supply Corporation has also implemented valve controls to reduce water flow by about 75% to facilitate the underwater inspection work.

"During the inspection, the divers found that the pipe had burst, resulting in a hole measuring 20cm x 30 cm. Today, the workers plan to carry out repair works by welding a 60cm x 60cm steel plate onto the damaged section.

"Since the welding work must be done underwater, the contractor will determine the best time to start work based on visibility and river conditions for safety reasons," he said.

To facilitate the underwater welding work, the corporation has had to temporarily shut down the damaged pipe, causing unscheduled water supply disruptions to about 200,000 consumers in the south-west district and Seberang Perai.

He added that the Penang Water Supply Corporation would announce the list of affected areas shortly.

"The Penang Water Supply Corporation apologises for any inconvenience caused, and we will provide regular updates on the corporation's Facebook page today. We will also announce the expected duration of the water supply disruption as soon as we receive a commitment from the experts conducting the work today," he said. – Bernama