Water Dept works to alleviate shortages after pump hiccup
Published on: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
.jpg "Water Dept works to alleviate shortages after pump hiccup")
UCA 2 tenants get up early to collect water from mobile tanks going around the property.
The Water Department plans to replace the pumps at the Telibong 1 Treatment Plant as the existing devices are prone to malfunctioning due to wear and tear.A spokesman for the agency said the facility had six pumps, four for daily use with the remainder on standby.
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“The pumps were first installed some time in the ‘80s and many of the individual components have long since become obsolete,” he said.
“We intend to get them upgraded to newer models which operate on a ‘VFN system’.”
He said the agency’s concessionaire hoped to change two of the pumps by next month.
“The same will be done for the rest by February next year.”
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He said the ‘VFN system’ would minimise the possibility of power surges occurring each time one of the pumps was reinstalled after repairs were made.
A surge recently caused the motor for one of the devices to burn out, disrupting the activities at the Telibong 1 Plant, according to the spokesman.
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“We were in the midst of reinstalling a newly repaired pump on Thursday, when this happened.
“The one being put back had broken down three days earlier.”
A Water Dept tanker delivers water to residents in UCA 2.
He said the facility’s output was severely impacted due to these technical problems.
Under normal circumstances, he said, a total of 74 million litres of treated water is produced daily at the Plant.
“Because of the pump-related hiccups, daily production fell by 30 per cent on Thursday. We were operating with only two pumps at the time.
“We managed to close this gap to 13 per cent by Friday, after successfully reinstalling another pump.”
He said an emergency meeting was held at the Department’s headquarters in Wisma Muis that same afternoon to decide how best to deal with the extreme supply shortage caused by the goings-on at the Telibong 1 Plant.
He said the agency’s Director asked for the pump with the burnt-out engine to be repaired with all expediency.
“Our concessionaire, however, informed him that it would take two weeks, at the earliest, for the device to be restored.
“So for the duration, the Department’s tankers have been deployed to deliver treated water to residential and commercial properties in the Northern Region of the State Capital.”
The spokesman said the concessionaire had also chipped in tankers to assist in these relief efforts.
“We are already facing an uphill task trying to ensure that consumers in Telipok, Manggatal and Inanam get some tap water under the rationing-exercise being implemented in these towns.
“What happened with the pumps has made the situation exceedingly worse.
“The Department is continuing to keep an eye on the affected areas but we hope our consumers here will bear with us while we try to find the most workable solution for what are already difficult circumstances.”
RIA, who lives on the first floor at University Condominium Apartments Phase 2 (UCA2), said the taps in her unit had run dry for the past five days.
“Prior to this, I usually received a supply between 5am and 8am and for three hours in the late afternoon, from 5pm to 8pm,” she said.
“Over the past week, this schedule has not been met. On one occasion, I only got tap water for two hours at night.
“Aside from this, only the sound of air moving can be heard when the taps are turned on.”
She admitted that it was very stressful to live alone under these circumstances.
“You don’t know when you might get a supply and, when you do, you might not be around to store the water that reaches your apartment.”
Ria said the move to ration the supply was undertaken by the management company (MC) for the property.
“I was made to understand that this is being done because the Department cannot supply enough water to the apartments.”
A MC spokesman said the firm had been wrestling with how best to handle the water situation at UCA2 since the beginning of the year as the incoming supply to the property was disrupted daily.
Queues for water continue late into the night.
“Since the second week of November, the main pipes entering our compound have been dry for consecutive days,” he said.
The spokesman said the MC had made the Department aware of these observations.
“On top of keeping the agency apprised of our observations, the management has taken to controlling the flow of water from our elevated tank to those living on the property.
“We generally stop the supply from the tank between 8am–5pm daily to try and collect the supply that reaches us.
“Nevertheless, since November 9, there have been occasions when we have only been able to release the water to our tenants once a day: for a limited time in the evening.”
“If we didn’t do this, then those living on the upper floors will have no chance of getting a supply at all.”
The spokesman said the Department had sent tankers daily, since Wednesday, to replenish the contents of the ground tank for UCA2.
Even then, he said, there was insufficient pressure to ensure that each of the 2,464 units which made up the property.
“So, the MC hired a lorry drivers to transport a supply in blue water tanks around the 40 apartment blocks, on and off, over the past week.
“Residents could bring their buckets and empty containers to be filled from the two tanks at the back of the lorry.”
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