GEORGE TOWN: Treated water is fully restored to all consumers affected by the burst pipe in Sungai Perai, says Chow Kon Yeow.
The Penang Chief Minister said yesterday that supply had been restored to 97% of the about 200,000 consumers whose taps had been dry since Dec 18.
The remaining 9,760 consumers in 11 areas in the southwest district were expected to have received their water supply by yesterday evening.
“The recovery process took a little longer because consumers in areas where the water supply has been restored were filling up their tanks, causing those in the higher areas and at the end of the system to receive their supply later,” he said, according to Bernama.
Consumers in the island’s southwest district and Seberang Perai here had been grappling with dry taps after a section of the 1.35m-wide pipe had burst at the bottom of Sungai Perai.
Chow added that lessons learnt from this incident would help them better prepare for the scheduled four-day water cut that was expected to take place starting on Jan 10, when the Penang Water Supply Corporation would replace critical parts of its infrastructure.
“This unexpected event allows us to see our weaknesses and what we need to improve to minimise the impact in January,” he said.
Meanwhile, Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said the state government was conducting a detailed study regarding the proposed increase in water tariff for domestic users in the state before submitting the application to the National Water Services Commission.
He added that the study was crucial to ensure that the upcoming hike of the water tariff, which was last increased in April 2011, would not burden the people and adversely affect Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd.
