Water Department to fix damaged pipes in Beaufort, Inanam
Published on: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
The “geyser” of water shooting up through the burst pipe could be seen for metres around this part of the road leading to Kg Jempangah.
THE Water Department is trying to proactively prevent its distribution mains in Beaufort from springing any leaks and is preparing to deal with a damaged pipe in an Inanam neighbourhood.
This action follows complaints about the erratic supply in Kg Jempangah, near the former town, and in Taman Kingfisher.
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A consumer from the village and two others from Inanam furnished Hotline with their particulars, including the dates when they were without tap water. This information was forwarded to the agency.
The department’s technicians worked into the night to reach this pipe which was buried about 11 metres below the road.
A department spokesman said its Beaufort office received multiple reports about a “geyser” which could be seen for meters around the road leading to Kg Jempangah on Thursday.
“A preliminary check revealed that a section of the 300millimetre (MM) distribution mains had burst,” he said.
“A fixture on the pipe had unexpectedly come loose due to the high pressure of the treated water being channelled to the area from our R3 reservoir near the old township.”
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He said the supply from R3 was temporarily shut off that morning to allow the department’s technicians to deal with the damaged ‘mid-steel-cement-lined (MSCL)’ pipe.
“An excavator was deployed to facilitate the emergency repairs, part of which involved digging down 11metres to reach another water mains buried beneath the road.”
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A notice about the damaged pipe was circulated over social media a half an hour before the repairs began that morning, according to him.
Besides those in the Kg Jempangah, the other villages impacted by the burst were Kg Cina, Kg Bingkul, Kg Melulugus, Kg Klias 1, Kg Klias 2, Kg Klias 3, Kg Klias 4, Kg Kubu 1, Kg Kubu 2, Kg Pintas, Kg Bakalau and Kg Memanjang.
Civil servants in several government offices, including the District Council, the District Office, the District Police headquarters, the Court Building and the Sports Complex, also felt the pinch.
The Fire and Rescue Services Barracks, government quarters, Beaufort Hospital, District Mosque and SMK Beaufort 1 were not spared from the supply difficulties.
Among the affected commercial properties were Beaufort Central, Wisma Arjuna and the shops in Old Beaufort Town, while the affected residential properties included Taman San Min and Taman Lo Chung.
The spokesman said repairs on the MSCL pipe were completed that same night.
Nevertheless, he said it took between two to three days before all the affected areas recovered from the disruption.
“Consumers living and working closer to our distribution mains did not have to wait so long.
“Those whose homes and shops were located on higher ground or towards the end of the supply-line, on the other hand, regained their supply after the third day.”
On the problems in Inanam, another spokesman said the Department would step up efforts to maintain its fixtures and pipes along housing roads in the Kingfisher area.
“A damaged 150mm MSCL pipe on Lorong Ujana Kingfisher 15 was to blame for the intermittent supply in parts of the neighbourhood,” he said.
“Our staff came upon the leak after we were informed by the media that homeowners on Lorong Kingfisher 21 and Lorong Ujana Kingfisher 11 had gone without tap water for the past few days.”
One of the agency’s staff prepares to cut the asphalt on Lorong Ujana Kingfisher 15.
He said the agency was gearing up to begin the necessary repairs.
“One of our technicians began measuring the length of the road which had to be excavated on Monday.
“We will be keeping an eye on the progress of this work to ensure that the supply is restored to the affected consumers as soon as possible.”
The spokesman said the leak had also given rise to water woes on Lorong Kingfisher 22 and 23, as well as Lorong Ujana 12, 13 and 14.
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