Major repair to pipeline: Labuan braces for three days without water
Published on: Thursday, April 02, 2015
Labuan: As if the present hot and dry spell is not enough, residents here have to brace themselves for more discomfort.The Water Department is closing the "big tap" at Pulau Eno and the entire island will be without water supply for three days from Friday.A circular issued by the department on March 24 said this was due to a major repair on a leaking an 800mm ductile iron pipe at Jalan Rancha Rancha.
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Due to the work, some sections of the road would also be affected.The circular advised the public to store enough water and use water sparingly during the period. The department would also arrange to have standby water delivery trucks to minimise the inconvenience of those completely without water.DAP spokesman here, Lau Seng Kiat, said:
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"Three days of zero water from the tap is too much and unacceptable. It will affect hundreds of homes, especially those staying on upper floors and the business community.""Not many have water storage tanks and so many buckets to store water. There is also the danger of a disease outbreak," said Lau.
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He said the prolonged closure of water supply should not happen in Labuan as it is an important oil and gas hub and International Business and Financial Centre (IBFS) as well as a tourist destination.Lau said what could be accepted was the fact the leakages of the aged water pipelines were beyond control. "But what is not acceptable is that in these days of advance technology and tools, three days are needed to handle the trouble confined to a specific area."He suggested that the repair be carried out in phases without full closure of the affected pipeline for three continuous days.Lau also lamented that despite the completion of the 47.7km sub-sea water pipeline costing RM387 million to deliver water from Padas River via the Pulau Eno distribution point such water "crisis" continued to plague Labuan, though temporarily.With the second pipeline, there was sufficient supply of clean water but the department failed to monitor and replace aged pipes until they developed leaks.The second pipeline was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in February and with the new connection, Labuan received 38 million litres daily (MLD) of water and together with the first pipeline, the supply from Padas River totalled 76 MLD. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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