Measures taken to improve water supply: Department
Published on: Wednesday, February 28, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
The pressure of the incoming supply to the tanks was found to be on the low side.
THE Water Department has fashioned another “inlet” to the 200millimetre (mm) distribution mains from Phase 2 of the Telibong II Treatment Plant which services Telipok Ria, in a bid to improve the supply being channelled to the flats, particularly those in Phase 3.
A spokesman for the agency said it hoped to increase the pressure of the tap water inside the 3,000 units, which make up Phase 3, with two “inlets”.
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He said Phases 1 and 2 comprised 1, 100 units each.
The Department’s staff checking on the condition of the storage tanks for Telipok Ria Phase 3.
“We intend to set up a 1,200mm transmission line from Telibong II Phase 2 (T2P2) in the long run and are sourcing for the funds to do this,” he said.
“The water reticulation system for Telipok Ria Phase 3 should be further stabilised once these new pipes have been put in place.”
In the meantime, he said, the Department would monitor the supply to the flats.
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“Water balancing will be carried out when necessary, as will efforts to clear the airlocks which may form inside the 500mm, 450mm and 200mm pipes in the area where Telipok Ria and the Telipok Commercial Centre are located.
“Our non-revenue water team will also continue to keep tabs on the strength of the water and condition of our mains to minimise pressure problems and potential leaks from impacting the supply in this part of the town.”
Repairs being made to a damaged pipe on Monday.
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The spokesman was responding to feedback from a Hotline reader about the water woes at Telipok Ria Phase 3.
KATHY, who occupies a second floor unit, bemoaned the irregular supply which she had been receiving for some time.
She said the situation went from bad to worse earlier this month, when she went without a drop of tap water.
“I regained my supply after a few days but it was reduced to a trickle which vanished every few hours,” she said.
“The residents have reported these problems to the Department and the management company (MC) for the flats but, so far, the situation has yet to improve.”
Kathy said some of her neighbours were told that the intermittent supply at the property stemmed from problems at the Telibong Plants.
“Others were informed that pipe bursts were to blame.”
The spokesman said the difficulties at Telipok Ria were triggered in part when the Department switched the supply for the property from the Telibong I Plant to T2P2 in mid-February.
“Between February 15 and February 17, we stopped the direct tapping of the 700mm distribution mains from Telibong 1 and began using the new 200mm line along Jalan Berungis-Telipok,” he said.
Some unforeseen “teething problems” were encountered while carrying out this switch, according to him.
“This manifested as a drop in water pressure which disrupted the supply to Telipok Ria Phase 1, 2 and 3, as well as Telipok Commercial Centre.
He said tankers temporarily sent treated water to some of the affected consumers, while the agency worked to stabilise and boost the strength of the supply to the four properties.
The agency’s technicians in the process of fashioning the second ‘inlet’ to the new 200mm distribution line.
He said its staff actively checked on the water pressure inside different sections of the distribution line leading to the flats and commercial centre as part of this effort.
The spokesman said the weak strength of the tap water at Telipok Ria Phase 3 was also a result of the inadequacies with the existing storage tanks for the property.
He explained that Phase 3 had 12 black receptacles each of which could contain as much as 10,000 litres of water.
“The tanks were designed to cater for 15,000 individuals, which according to the Development Plan meant that 3.3 million litres of water was needed daily to cater to the demands of these consumers.
“However, as many as 38,000-40,000 people now stay at the flats.”
He said the MC was apprised of these findings and informed that the existing infrastructure was woefully inefficient when it came to meeting the supply needs of these occupants.
“The company has agreed to have the tanks upgraded to those with a bigger capacity and is working together with the Tuaran District Council to identify an accurate figure of the number of individuals staying at the flats.”
He said this information would help the firm to decide on how big the new tanks should be.
When asked about the pipe bursts, the spokesman said the agency had just dealt with a damaged distribution mains near a steel factory on Jalan Pantai, in Telipok, on Monday afternoon.
“Repairs to the 150mm AC (Asbestos Cement) pipe were completed several hours after the leak was discovered,” he said.
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