GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has directed the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) to undertake two emergency response action plans simultaneously to ensure those affected by a water supply disruption will get water supply as reliably as possible.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the challenge was to recover water supply for the 120,000 affected consumers.
He said Plan A was to re-clamp a 1.15m x 0.65m hole on the leaking 1,350mm underwater pipeline section.
He said this was a temporary solution to "buy time" until the completion of preparatory works onsite for the commissioning of two new 600mm pipelines to replace the underwater pipeline.
"Plan A is expected to be completed tomorrow. If successful, 84 per cent of the 120,000 affected consumers will get water supply at 8am on Friday while the recovery of the remaining 16 per cent of affected consumers will get their supply at 8am Saturday.
"However, if Plan A fails, then the affected consumers will have to wait for at least a week to get the water supply," he told newsmen here today.
He was met prior to a Thaipusam walkabout at Jalan Kebun Bunga here this afternoon.
Chow said whether Plan A was successful would be known tomorrow.
Elaborating, Chow said Plan A was a temporary solution to restore water supply for the affected consumers quickly.
"The affected consumers will have a two to three-day window to store water for the implementation of Plan B," he added.
Plan B is to expedite the preparatory works for the commissioning of two new 600mm pipelines to replace the leaked underwater pipeline.
Chow said the original deadline for the contractor to complete work was on Feb 2, with pipeline diversion works scheduled to commence immediately.
"Once Plan B is completed, there should be no more risks or threats to water supply services in the southwest district and the Seberang Praj Selatan district as related to Sungai Prai.
"However, in order to implement Plan B, PBAPP will schedule a planned water supply interruption to enable pipeline diversion works," he said, adding that the two new 600mm pipelines would be connected and the leaking 1,350mm would be disconnected.
It was reported that some 200,000 consumers in the southwest district of Penang Island and several areas in Seberang Prai would experience an unscheduled disruption to their water supply.
This followed a sudden mishap in Sungai Prai.
PBAPP said it had detected a sudden major leak on the 1,350mm underwater pipeline section, the fourth since last month.