Water woes: Lim washing his hands with water that came all the way from Kulai as the restaurant he was at was also affected by the water disruption.
JOHOR BARU: Having to use the neighbourhood petrol station toilet for bathroom breaks and showers are among the coping strategies for Johor Baru residents struggling to get through a massive water cut that has dried up all taps in the city.
Others have had to use up stacks of bottled water just to get through the day ever since water was cut more than 24 hours ago.
Faridah Zainuddin said she had to walk to a petrol station near her house just to wash up for prayers and use the toilet.
“The water disruption has affected my house and the place where I work. So, I have no choice but to use the petrol station for now,” said the 50-year-old daily wage earner.
“The restaurant where I work was also forced to close, as we were caught off guard and did not save any water for this emergency.
“I hope that this water crisis will end as soon as possible so that I can go back to work.”
Coffee shop owner Roland Lim, 70, has been more fortunate as he has been able to use the bathrooms at his workers’ hostel after the taps in his house in Taman Kim Teng Park ran dry.
“It is very frustrating as we had to make last-minute arrangements just to carry out our daily routines. I did not expect the water disruption to last this long, especially since we did not receive any notice.
“Thankfully, my coffee shop and my workers’ hostel were not affected, allowing me to still have a source of water. That may not be the case for others,” he said.
Lim, who is also the Johor Baru and Hawker Association president, said some of his members have had to shut down their eateries as they could not find alternative sources of water.
“I am also disappointed with Ranhill SAJ as I feel that they have responded very slowly to this crisis and seem unprepared.
“I have called their hotline and was earlier told that the water will be back soon, but it has now been 24 hours since our taps ran dry,” he said, adding that he is still waiting for water tanks to be sent to his housing area.
The water utility company had said that water supplies were stopped after heavy rain on May 20 damaged the motors of six water pumps at their treatment plant.
The Star reported that an estimated 300,000 consumers in Johor Baru have been affected by the water cut since 10am on May 21. The water company had earlier promised to complete repairs by midnight on the same day.
The prolonged cut saw Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi ordering Ranhill SAJ to hold a crisis meeting to get the pumps back online.
Onn Hafiz later told the Johor state assembly in a special address that work on the pumps have taken longer than anticipated.
“The pumps were supposed to be repaired completely on Wednesday (May 21), but they are still a problem,” he said, adding that the water company has been told to expedite repairs.
Other districts have also been ordered to send water tankers and bottled water to the affected housing areas, Onn Hafiz said.
Ranhill SAJ has also dispatched 16 water tankers to critical locations including hospitals and dialysis centres.
