GEORGE TOWN: Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) has normalised water supply services for the majority of Penang water consumers affected by the Sungai Muda incident that occurred this morning.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said, as at 3.30pm, water supply to 391,239 of the 465,004 affected water consumers in various parts of the state had been normalised.
Chow, who is PBAPP chairman, said the turbidity of the raw water from Sungai Muda, at the Lahar Tiang intake, had dropped to 547.9 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).
"PBAPP is abstracting raw water at 100 per cent capacity at Lahar Tiang for pumping to the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
"Treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP has reached 94.6 per cent of maximum capacity.
"PBAPP's emergency response team (ERP), headed by its chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan, is targeting to completely normalise water supply services throughout the state by tomorrow," he said today.
Chow said the first priority is to recover 100 per cent treated water capacity at the Sungai Dua WTP.
"PBAPP needs to optimise pumping treated water into empty pipelines and PBAPP personnel will have to address issues such as re-starting pumps in all affected pump houses and addressing 'air-locks', potential burst pipes, as well as other pipeline issues," he added.
Earlier today, the New Straits Times reported that about 465,004 water consumers throughout the state experienced dry taps or low water pressure since morning.
Muddy flood waters from Baling, Kedah had affected water supply services in the state.
Muddy or highly turbid flood waters from the recent floods in Baling compelled PBAPP to reduce treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP. The Sungai Dua WTP is the largest and most important WTP in Penang.
Its treated water is supplied to about 465,004 water consumers in Seberang Prai and Penang island.
Among the affected areas are George Town, south Bukit Dumbar to Balik Pulau (Pulau Betong, Bukit Penara, Pondok Upeh and Bandar Balik Pulau); Seberang Prai Tengah (areas south of the Bukit Minyak Pump House) and Seberang Prai Selatan.
Chow said flash floods were reported in Baling, Kedah last Friday, which would have washed down debris and soil into Sungai Muda, upstream of Penang's Lahar Tiang intake.
He said since then, PBAPP had been carefully monitoring the Sungai Muda raw water quality.
"Until yesterday, the raw water quality at the Lahar Tiang intake was adequate for PBAPP to abstract for 'normal' treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP.
"PBAPP needs to abstract about 1,100 MLD (million litres per day) of raw water from Lahar Tiang to support an average production of about 1,000 MLD of treated water at the Sungai Dua WTP.
"Since yesterday, PBAPP drew down about 300 MLD from the Expanded Mengkuang Dam (EMD) as a pre-emptive measure.
"This morning, the turbidity of Sungai Muda raw water at Lahar Tiang spiked by 556 per cent, from 236 NTU at 12.00am to 1,549 NTU at 7.00am. In prioritising public safety, PBAPP reduced raw water abstraction by about 70 per cent at 9.00am today.
"This 70 per cent reduction in raw water abstraction at Lahar Tiang compelled PBAPP to reduce treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP to 715.8 MLD (supported by the 300 MLD EMD drawdown) at 9.00am," he said.
As a result of lowered treated water production at the Sungai Dua WTP this morning, Chow said water supply to water consumers in several parts of Penang island and Seberang Prai were affected.