PAPAR: The water supply in Papar is expected to improve following the completion of repair works at the Kogopon Water Treatment Plant here.
The district has been declared a "disaster area" due to critical water disruptions that have affected about 150,000 people since earlier this month.
District disaster management committee chairman Mohd Fuad Abdullah said the plant could only be repaired yesterday as the spare part had to be ordered from abroad.
"In February, one of the three pumps at the plant was broken, affecting water production by five million litres per day (5MLD).
"With the repairs, water production has returned to its maximum capacity of 40 MLD," he said in a statement.
He also said that the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) had assisted in treating water from the Papar-Mandalipau river using Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) techniques.
Yesterday, the team produced 6,360 litres of water to be distributed among the villagers.
The district water department has tested water samples and certified them to meet safety standards.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department has entered the fourth day of extinguishing an ongoing fire at a tyre disposal site at the Kayu Madang landfill near Sepanggar.
Forty-one personnel were dispatched to the 4.57-hectare site. The fire extinguishing operation is divided into four sectors.
"On the fourth day of firefighting operations, the team used fixed monitor firefighting equipment alongside the high-performance pump module (HPPM) apparatus. Water was sourced from an open water body, and extinguishment was carried out using a total of 14 Foam Tanks.
"The remaining area of the fire is 1.0287 hectares, with 77.5 percent extinguished," according to a separate statement.
Over the past three days, 900 lorry trips were made to deliver soil to prevent the spread of fire at the landfill.
Cloud seeding in Sabah is expected to take place between today and Saturday.