PETALING JAYA: Consumers are fed up with excuses and want to see better enforcement by the relevant authorities, when it comes to water management.
They also want stricter enforcement on crimes related to pollution causing sudden unscheduled water disruptions.
USJ 12 resident Lydia Loo 56, said there was no prior notice on the water disruption by Air Selangor which halted operations at the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant over odour pollution concerns yesterday.
She said the sudden water disruption had also ruined her family’s Winter Solstice celebration.
She said she had bought tang yuan, a dessert made of glutinous rice flour that the Chinese eat during the Winter Solstice, and was planning to cook them today.
“But, unfortunately, how are we supposed to celebrate it without water?,” she said while pointing some empty pails.
Her husband, Ghan Kong Yew, 60, said the water disruption could have been prevented if the authorities had carried out stricter enforcement measures and taken action against culprits who had caused water supply disruptions in the past.
“This is not the first time we have to face this. The last water disruption was just a few months ago.
“How often do the authorities want us to go through this?” he said.
“There should be stricter enforcement. Legal action should be taken so that this won’t be repeated again.
“The only good thing is how quickly Air Selangor was able to provide emergency water supply to residents,” he said.
Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) Zone 3 residential committee member Peter Pook said his family of 30, from the northern states and Singapore had arrived at his place to celebrate the Winter Solstice festival.
“It’s sad. We should be celebrating today at home with home-cooked meals. Instead, we had to find another place.
“My mother who came down from Taiping was shocked to find that there was no water supply here,” he said.
Pook said the committee had been assisting affected residential areas to receive water supply through tankers and static tanks.
Freelancer Aida Johan, 33, who lives in USJ 12, was upset because there was no warning about the water disruption.
She said she had checked the Air Selangor website and called the hotline number but was only greeted by an answering machine.
“The website only notified us of the water disruption at 5pm.
“Earlier, it only mentioned Hulu Langat not USJ. It was already late and we could not store enough water.
“My mother suffered a stroke recently, so our relatives kept coming to see her and we are unable to provide a comfortable space for her because of this (water supply disruption) and now I have leave her to get water for the house,” she said.
As of 4pm today, many USJ residents were seen queueing up at the water main in Jalan USJ 3A, which is one the areas that were not affected by the unscheduled water disruption.