Suria Inanam water leaks dealt with: Department
Published on: Tuesday, March 21, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
A ‘listening stick’ is used to try and detect audio evidence of water rushing out of a damaged underground pipe (left) and a Department technician uses a ‘soundbar’ to listen in for a leak.
Shops and offices on the upper-floors of Suria Inanam should have minimal difficulty in receiving tap water now that all the major leaks related to the distribution mains servicing the commercial centre have been successfully dealt with.Nevertheless, the Water Department is continuing to monitor the goings-on at the property – off Jalan Tuaran Bypass – to ensure that unit-owners receive a supply.
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The same is being done in Ujana Kingfisher, after home-owners in some parts of the neighbourhood claimed that their taps ran dry for almost a week recently.
A spokesman for the agency said it took more than one and a half months to zero in on the damaged sections of the distribution pipes buried beneath Suria Inanam.
The management company (MC) had apparently received multiple reports about the weak pressure of the supply in ground-floor units, while not a drop was available in those above, according to him.
The meter allows a comparison to be made of the flow rates and total flow volume in the Department’s system at Suria Inanam.
“Towards the end of January, one of the MC’s staff informed us about water welling up from underground in different parts of the property,” he said.
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He said the Department’s contractor attempted to triangulate the location of the bursts, when the agency became aware of the problems at the commercial centre.
“Our staff repeatedly tried digging down to the pipes, where the ponding was occurring, but failed to find the leaks.”
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To counter these frustrations, the Department eventually brought in some specialised equipment to improve its chances of pinpointing the damage.
“A ‘listening stick’ and ‘soundbar’ was initially used to conduct step testing.”
He said the agency’s personnel went around the common areas of Suria Inanam with these tools trying to detect audio evidence of the bursts.
“They even entered chambers beneath the roads, in some cases, hoping that this might allow them to better hone in on the sound of the water escaping from the pipes.”
The spokesman explained that “step testing” was “a flow-based method of localising water loss within a distribution system”.
“It works by continually measuring the flow of water into a zone as valves are shut off in sequence. The test is usually performed at night when water consumption is at its lowest so that shutting off the supply causes minimum disruption.
“The areas of the pipeline showing unexpected water loss can then be identified and investigated.”
On top of this, he said, a “portable ultrasonic flow meter” was also brought in to facilitate efforts to locate the damaged mains.
“The meter allows a comparison to be made of the flow rates and total flow volume at various points in the system.
“A lower flow volume indicates that there is a leak somewhere within the test area.”
He said five bursts were found earlier this month, in various places of the commercial centre, thanks to these various methods.
“The contractor set about repairing each of the damaged pipes in turn and completed this work last week,” the spokesman said on March 20.
“Our staff have been periodically keeping tabs on Suria Inanam since then to determine whether the water situation improves.”
He said they had also been checking on the supply to Ujana Kingfisher with similar frequency.
“Damage to the cables inside our Kingfisher Park pumphouse last week, as well as a temporary shutdown of our Telibong II Treatment Plant gave rise to the protracted water problems in the neighbourhood,” he said.
The Department team conducting a night-time check on the mains in this part of the commercial centre.
He explained that metal thieves broke into the former installation but failed to make away with the severed power lines, while the shutdown – which took place two days later – was meant to allow a meter at the latter to be replaced.
“The ‘system input volume’-meter facilitates our water-balancing calculations for the Plant.
“The standby pump at our Kingfisher property was restored shortly before the shutdown.”
The spokesman said it took between two to three days for the supply to normalise in Ujana Kingfisher during which time “flushing” was carried out of the pipeline along the different housing roads in the area.
“Our staff also cleared any airlocks which had formed in the supply-line here.
“They later checked to see that water was reaching the metres for the affected consumers and confirmed that this was, by and large, the case.”
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