PETALING JAYA: Air Selangor has sprung to its own defence as fingers are being pointed at it over the three sinkhole incidents in Kuala Lumpur.
The sole water provider in the Klang Valley said constant vibrations from construction sites and heavy vehicles had put too much pressure on the pipes, causing some of them to burst.
“The burst pipes happened every now and then, involving various types of pipes of different sizes,” Air Selangor Corporate Communications Department head Halem Mat Som told theSun yesterday.
“All the (sinkhole) incidents that happened were due to several reasons, and one of them was the high concentration of construction activities.”
In pointing out that the pipes would not burst if there were no underground soil movement, Halem said constant vibrations at development areas triggered cracks in them.
He said the soil movement could also be caused by groundwater flow due to rain which loosened the soil structure.
Halem added that underground pipes were placed at the side of roads but they ended up in the centre after the roads were widened.
Air Selangor, he said, would replace the pipes in Kuala Lumpur which are mostly very old. Currently, it is replacing old cement pipes which stretch over 438km. To date 365.16km of such pipes have been replaced.
“We carried out the investigation as part of our countermeasure without pointing fingers at any parties. It is to identify the exact cause of the incidents, particularly within the 48-hour period,” Halem said.
“The pipes in front of Jalan Pinang and Jalan Dewan Bahasa are the old 300mm cement pipes which can’t withhold high water pressure.”
Air Selangor said a pressure logger has been installed to monitor the water pressure and to stabilise water supply.
“To mitigate the risk, we are installing an endcap on the pipe at the side of the road and carrying out tapping relocation for 10 premises that are receiving water from the affected pipeline,“ he said.
Since Sunday, three sinkholes occurred in the golden triangle at Jalan Maharajalela, Jalan Pinang and Jalan Dewan Bahasa over three consecutive days.
The National Water Services Commission has asked Air Selangor to investigate the three sinkhole incidents and to monitor other areas at risk of such occurrence.
