DBKK monitoring Inanam sewage pump
Published on: Tuesday, November 15, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
Bags of concealed grease can be seen after this substance was strained away from the effluent inside the manhole.
CITY HALL is keeping tabs on its sewage pump servicing the HSK Industrial and Golden Hill Commercial Centres – both in Inanam – to minimise the recurring nuisance created by the effluent which has been soiling Lorong Cempedak 6A at the former.A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department said special attention would be given to ensuring that the control panel for the device functioned as it should.
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He said the contractor, tasked with attending to the sewerage irregularities along Mile 7.5 Jalan Tuaran, had also been asked to be mindful of any electricity disruptions in the area.
The pump began working again after it was manually reactivated.
“We asked him to get his workers to check on the pump at their earliest opportunity after a blackout, in case it had tripped,” he said.
Despite operating on an automated system, he said the device occasionally failed to come back by itself when the power was restored.
“Because of this, it is important to go on site to confirm that the pump is working. If it needs to be switched on then this can be done.
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“The sewage levels in the pipes will keep rising, the longer the pump remains inoperative.”
The manholes on Lorong Cempedak 6A have been overflowing on and off, which has proven bad for business.
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Shop owners in this part of the HSK Industrial Centre have lost many potential customers and tenants over the past two years due to the stench coming from the effluent which periodically collects on the road.
The contractor’s staff visited the pump-house because of high level sewage inside the pipes.
A strong ammonia-like smell, most recently, permeated these units for several days earlier this month.
A proprietor alerted Hotline to these goings-on around this time. Her grievance was forwarded to City Hall.
The spokesman said the maintenance crew went to the property on the same day that the agency learned about this problem from the media.
“The contractor’s workers opened several manholes on the road where the complainant’s unit was located and found that the effluent past the brim of these structures,” he said.
“They set about ‘sewer-rodding’ the length of the pipes underneath on the spot.
“Bits of congealed grease were among the foreign objects strained from the sewage.
“We suspect that some parties may be flushing used cooking oil into the sewer-line.”
He said the high level of the effluent prompted the crew to visit the pump-house.
The level of the sewerage was close to the brim when the contractor’s worker opened this manhole on Loromg Cempakak 6A.
“The maintenance staff reactivated the pump after finding that it had tripped.”
“Our contractor has been told to make regular inspections of the device, as well as the sewer pipes between HSK and Golden Hill next door.
The spokesman said this individual was asked to step up efforts to clear the pipes as this would go some way to reducing the inconvenience caused to the public.
“On top of this, we are working together with our colleagues from the Environmental Health Department (EHD) to deal with the problems arising from the haphazard disposal of used cooking oil at kitchens in this area.”
An EHD spokeswoman warned that eatery owners risked being slapped with a RM500 compound for failing to maintain the grease-traps in their kitchens.
She said such action could be taken in extreme cases under the agency’s by-laws.
“First time offenders face the possibility of having to settle a RM100 compound,” she said.
She said the Department’s inspectors would check on the condition of the kitchens, including the grease-traps, at food outlets there.
“The grease should be removed from the traps everyday and not as and when it becomes necessary to do so.
“If need be, notices to this affect will be issued to all the proprietors in the building instructing them to step up efforts to attend to the traps on their premises.”
The spokeswoman said the food operators concerned would be given a grace period in which to do this,” he said.
“Should they fail to comply, then further action will be taken against them.”
ELAINE of Inanam bemoaned the difficulty she had faced in finding a tenant for her shop because of the sewerage problems at the HSK Industrial Centre.
“No one wants to rent my unit because the road in front of it is repeatedly covered with effluent,” she said.
“Those who have taken the shop do not stay for long.
“They have told me that the stench deters customers from patronising their business and bemoan their inability to use the toilet in my unit.”
Elaine said the manholes on the stretch had been intermittently overflowing since June 2020.
“City Hall has been informed about the occurrences over the years but, up to now, the authority has not managed to settle this problem.”
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