Braving the murky depths

Huge task: The commercial divers hard at work in Sungai Prai.

BALIK PULAU: Sungai Prai is famous for all the wrong reasons. Pig farms are known to have polluted the river, thousands of dead fish have been found floating in the water. It is teh-tarik brown, turbid and murky.

It was into these dirty waters that frogmen had to plunge and start repair work when a pipe under the river ruptured, cutting off water supply to about 200,000 homes.

In almost absolute zero visibility at the bottom of the 3.5m-deep river, the commercial divers faced the daunting task of carrying out underwater welding to a 60x60cm steel plate to patch the 1.35m diameter pipe that had burst.

Complicating matters further was the proximity of the damaged pipe to the river mouth. The strong currents carrying sea water in and out with the tide made the frogmen’s work even more difficult.

As at 5pm yesterday, frogmen, with trailing pipes from boats on the surface, grappled with the challenges in completing the repair work.

The pipe is one of two that channel treated water from North Seberang Prai district to much of Butterworth on the mainland and much of the southern and western parts of the island.

Fortunately, a second pipe from the mainland still channels water to the other parts of the island, allowing crucial commercial and industrial sectors in George Town and Bayan Lepas to stay in operation.

Tankers from the Penang Water Supply Corporation and Penang Island City Council, as well as Fire and Rescue Department’s engines, have also been sending water to affected areas since Tuesday evening.

As frogmen worked, residents and shop owners rushed to secure 100-litre pails and water containers at the southern and western corners of the island.

At Balik Pulau Market, water containers were stacked high in front of stalls.

In response to the water shortage, fried noodles seller Chan Wai Kit, 43, adapted by serving customers on paper plates with disposable utensils. Chan closed his stall on Tuesday after the water supply was abruptly cut off.

Rice seller Noraini Ismail, 33, carefully planned her dishes to reduce the need for washing her wok.

“I cook fewer dishes because I cannot keep washing after cooking each different dish,” she said.

Also affected by the water cut was car wash operator Thor Sin Hwa, 66, who tried his best to collect water in a large tank.

“We are lucky to have some water still coming out of the tap. Once the supply stops and water in the tank is used up, we will stop business,” he said.

On Monday morning, the 1.35m water pipe on the bed of Sungai Prai burst and sent a geyser shooting 3m to 5m into the air from the middle of the river.

At press time yesterday, the resealing of the pipe was scheduled to be completed the same day.