Water Department keeping tabs on Manggatal commercial centre
Published on: Thursday, February 08, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
Some proprietors at University Plaza have been finding it hard to run their businesses because of the irregular supply.
THE Water Department is monitoring the supply to a Manggatal commercial centre and the adjacent apartments, following feedback that taps at both properties had intermittently run dry over the past few weeks.
The agency has also been checking on the pumphouse servicing an Inanam neighbourhood to prevent water from pointlessly raining down from some elevated tanks in the housing area.
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A shop-operator at University Plaza and tenant at University Apartments1 (UA1) lamented the meagre amount of water which their upper-floor units had been receiving due to the diminishing pressure of the main incoming supply.
The supply has been raining down through a nozzle on one of these elevated tanks in Ujana Kingfisher for months.
An Ujana Kingfisher homeowner, on the other hand, spoke out about the wastage which stemmed from the irregularity at the tanks, saying that it was disheartening to see the supply pooling on the road nearby when so many others in this part of Inanam had been experiencing water woes.
Each of these consumers provided Hotline with the pertinent details, including the dates when these problems came to light. This information was forwarded to the agency.
A Department spokesman said the realignment of some distribution mains in Manggatal was to blame for the difficulties at University Plaza and UA1 at the time.
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“These pipes were shifted to accommodate the construction of the Pan-Borneo highway,” he said. “It took two days to complete the relocation effort.”
He said the level of water at the reservoir – from which University Plaza and UA1 drew their supply – fell during this time, giving rise to the supply difficulties which the consumers there experienced.
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Some found their tap water reduced to a trickle, while others only received a supply for a few hours late at night, according to him.
“It took about half a day to boost the amount of water at the reservoir. The affected consumers should have noticed a gradual improvement in their supply after this.
The spokesman said the agency’s technicians went to UA1 shortly after being contacted by the media.
“They cleared any airlocks which had formed in the water mains before the bulk-meter for the apartments and later confirmed that a supply was reaching the device.
“The pressure of the water was found to be acceptable in this instance.”
In the case of Ujana Kingfisher, he said, the Department intended to repair an existing fixture at the elevated tanks and have a new one put in place, to ensure that these receptacles do not overflow.
The spokesman said water had been spraying down through a nozzle on one of these receptacles because of a faulty “altitude valve”.
“We are in the midst of sourcing for the funds to have this valve replaced,” he said.
“A check valve will also be installed when these repairs are carried out.”
He said the agency had called on its staff to be more mindful of the goings-on in Ujana Kingfisher in the meantime.
He said it hoped in this way to partially curb any future wastage from taking place there.
“Our personnel inspect the pump for the neighbourhood from time to time to ensure that it has not tripped.
“The device has to be manually reactivated, if this happens.”
He said the spillage from the tanks sometimes occurred when the pump was inoperative.
“On top of this, they have been asked to check for airlocks in the pipes leading to the tanks and to clear any blockages inside these distribution mains.”
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