Ponding on Jalan Damai: "City Hall and SSD deny problems with their assets"
Published on: Thursday, August 11, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
The contractor’s worker puts his back into removing the collapsed section of the drain in Taman BPL.
CITY Hall and the Sewage Services Department (SSD) have refuted that a problem with their assets was behind a recent ponding problem on Jalan Damai but will nevertheless step up efforts to ensure that these installations function as they should.The former will also make periodic checks of the housing drains in a Luyang neighbourhood to ensure that any structural defects with these structures are promptly dealt with.
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This action was prompted by a motorist’s observations about the run-off pooling on the section of the road near the Jalan Damai-Jalan Bersatu intersection and a rate-payer’s displeasure about the lack of maintenance carried out on the front yard drains in Taman BPL Phase 2.
A City Hall spokesman said one of its contractors checked on the agency’s sewer line, shortly after being informed about the driver’s feedback.
“At the time, none of these pipes were clogged and the level of the effluent inside was not high,” he said.
Sacks of sediment were spotted on the pavement beside the newly installed grills on Jalan Damai.
“We had been under the impression that our manholes might be overflowing as this had happened a few months earlier.”
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He said the contractor’s workers found that some grills had been installed over the covered drain running beneath the road.
“From the condition of the grills and the cement around them, they guessed that these structures may have just been put in place.
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“These personnel also noted a pile of sacks on the pavement nearby, which led them led to believe that the drain could have cleaned around the time.
“This may account for the water and wet patch which the road-user had seen.”
He said a check of the City Hall’s records revealed that both the road and drain were not under its jurisdiction.
“We have made the relevant agency aware of the motorist’s concerns regarding the water pooling on the stretch and called on this authority to look into this irregularity.
“This is the most we can do as the drainage is outside our maintenance.”
A SSD spokeswoman said its staff had gone to the Department’s Dah Yeh Villa- pumphouse about the same time.
“They checked on the condition of the pumps, including their control panel, and found them to be functioning as they should,” she said.
She admitted that, unlike previously, the pumps did not function round the clock.
“Since the Jalan Kota Kinabalu-Kudat Sewage Pipe Repair Project began earlier this year, these devices have to be manually switched on and off.”
She said the Department’s staff had been assigned to deactivate and reactivate the pumps.
“They are supposed to do this according to a schedule every day, even on weekends and public holidays.
“Should they fail to check-in at the pump-houses as they should, then sewerage-irregularities might be triggered in some parts of the City.
“For instance, the manholes on some main roads might start to overflow.
“Our personnel have been reminded not to be tardy in dealing with the pumps to minimise the chances of this happening.
She said the SSDC was working together with its peers at City Hall to co-ordinate the timing of those pumps which were maintained by the latter agency.
“This will minimise any inconvenience caused to the public while the upgrading work is still in progress.”
The spokeswoman explained that the project involved upgrading the pipes in 11 separate sections, which spanned a total of 955 metres.
“We are in the midst of refurbishing the sewer line along several main roads in Kota Kinabalu, including Jalan Teluk Likas, Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens and Jalan Tuaran Lama.
“Some of the sewer lines are in urgent need of rehabilitation as they have deteriorated due to wear and tear,” she said.
“The pipes, in certain places beneath the roads involved, have collapsed because of their age and the corrosive impact of the effluent inside.”
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she said, the Department hoped to finish refurbishing the sewerage system in these areas by September next year.
ROWLAND of Luyang noticed that the road approaching a roundabout on Jalan Damai was wet while the rest of the stretch was dry.
“I suspect that this might be due to a drainage problem of some sort,” he said.
“This is not a one-off occurrence. In most instances, the road will be tarred shortly after this happens.”
Rowland feared that that cracks could form in the asphalt because of the frequency of the water ponding on the road.
Meanwhile, a contractor has rebuilt a front yard drain in Taman BPL, according to the City Hall spokesman.
He said the concrete walls for the structure, along Jalan Budaya, was found to have collapsed earlier this month.
“The contractor removed the fallen concrete from the drain and then set about making the necessary repairs.
“This work was completed in the first week of August.”
He said structural maintenance was carried out on the housing drains as and when it became necessary to do so.
JACK of Luyang said the concrete walls for the drain outside his front gate collapsed last month during a downpour.
“I contacted City Hall a few days after I noticed this and was informed that my grievance would be attended to,” he said.
“The agency should be more proactive in dealing with such problems instead of waiting for us to bring these matters to its attention.”
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