GEORGE TOWN: Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) will optimise water supply services in the state during the Chinese New Year (CNY) festive season, which begins this Wednesday.
PBAPP chief executive officer, Datuk K. Pathmanathan, said that currently the level of Sungai Muda is above the safe level of 2.0 metres (m), while the effective capacity of the three main dams in Penang is also sufficient for the time being.
“As of yesterday, the Air Itam Dam recorded 75.2 per cent, Teluk Bahang Dam (60.3 per cent) and the Expanded Mengkuang Dam (90.3 per cent), while nine water treatment plants (LRAs) are fully operational for optimal production of treated water.
“The Sungai Muda level at the Lahar Tiang intake in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) has exceeded the safe level of 2.0m since Jan 1, and PBAPP is abstracting raw water from the river to support optimal water production at the Sungai Dua LRA,“ he said, in a statement, today.
He said that, barring any incident, the Sungai Dua LRA will continue to produce water optimally throughout the Chinese New Year celebration period.
Apart from treated water from Sungai Dua, Pathmanathan said that the Bukit Toh Allang LRA, in Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT), will operate at optimal levels to supply about 39.1 MLD (million litres per day) for the area it services, while the Bukit Panchor LRA is also ready to produce an additional 20.2 MLD for use in Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS).
In the Timur Laut district, there are four LRAs in Air Itam, Bukit Bendera, Guillemard and Waterfall, which produce 76.6 MLD of treated water for the whole district.
“Water supply in the Timur Laut district is also backed up by inflow of treated water from the Sungai Dua LRA, through three sets of twin submarine pipelines, and although the effective capacity of the Air Itam Dam, of 2,159 million litres (ML), is not optimal, there is sufficient water available from the dam for the Chinese New Year season,” he said.
Pathmanathan said the Batu Ferringhi LRA and the Sungai Pinang LRA, in the Barat Daya district are also ready to supply about 53.8 MLD of treated water, especially to the northern and western parts of the island, with the effective capacity of the Teluk Bahang Dam of 18,240 ML being sufficient at this time.
He stressed that PBAPP does not plan to implement any scheduled water supply interruptions (SWSI) during the festive season, but instead has mobilised 200 emergency response personnel to be on standby 24 hours a day, for quick response to any unforeseen incidents, in addition to 10 PBAPP tanker lorries at the ready throughout the state.
