GEORGE TOWN, July 25 — Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) is taking steps to optimise water flow and increase water pressure as consumers in higher ground areas in South Seberang Perai (SPS), Central Seberang Perai (SPT) and the Southwest district of the island face water supply issues and low water pressure.
PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk K. Pathmanathan said new development areas on higher ground in SPS such as Taman Cendana and areas in Juru are facing low water pressure issues.
“This happens especially during peak hours from 6pm to 11pm,” he said in a press conference after the official launch of PBA Holdings Bhd’s auxiliary police hub at the Air Itam Dam here.
He said some areas experienced water pressure issues for between three to four hours during peak hours.
“We have received complaints that some affected areas do not have water supply,” he said.
He said PBAPP has identified the affected areas so that it can take appropriate measures to resolve the water supply issues.
“We are now optimising certain valves so that we can channel more water to the affected areas,” he said.
He said they may be able to reduce the period of low water pressure or no water supply in affected areas from three hours to two hours.
He said about 3,000 to 4,000 consumers in SPS are affected, while only a small number of consumers in SPT are affected.
“We may be able to reduce the low water pressure period in SPT to about one hour,” he said.
Pathmanathan said water consumption has continued to increase, especially in new areas in SPS.
“With the hot weather now, the consumption upstream is very high,” he said.
He added that July and August are the most challenging months for PBAPP as it is the dry season.
He said another issue SPS faces is that it does not have its own dedicated pipeline.
“The pipelines are the same ones we use to channel water to the whole of Penang, so they are sharing the same pipes,” he said.
He said they have already increased the water pressure and the water channelled is at the maximum level.
He said if they were to increase the water pressure further, it could lead to pipe leakage that would increase the non-revenue water (NRW) percentage.
As for medium to long-term solutions, he said the PBAPP board has just approved a new water infrastructure project from Sungai Kerian in SPS that will increase water supply by 50 million litres per day (MLD).
“We will try to speed it up to complete within 12 to 14 months,” he said.
He said another project, a water treatment plant in Sungai Kerian, will provide another 114 MLD.
He said both projects will be completed within 18 months.
Earlier, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow launched a newly set up PBA Holdings Bhd (PBAHB) auxiliary police hub to train auxiliary police personnel for PBAHB at the Air Itam Dam.
Chow said PBAHB now has 183 auxiliary police officers to monitor and patrol PBAPP premises in the state.
He said the hub will be a good platform to train new auxiliary police officers.
“Recently, the PBAHB board approved an additional 34 new officers to increase the number of personnel to patrol and support PBAHB in its operations,” he said.
