KOTA KINABALU: A total of 22 water treatment plants (LRAs) in Sabah are not operating properly and the problems need to be addressed soon to ensure residents in the areas receive clean water supply, said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
Bung Moktar, who is also the state Works Minister, said 22 out of 84 LRAs across the state had been identified as having serious problems and could not supply water to the public.
He said the problems occurred both in dry and rainy seasons. When it rained, the water in the river near the plant would be murky and could not be channelled to the residents and in dry season, the plants could not collect enough water.
“Most of these plants have been built for more than 20 years and as a result of the rapid development in the nearby area, the rivers have been polluted and water cannot be channelled to consumers,” he told reporters here today.
In this regard, Bung Moktar asked the Sabah Water Department (JANS) to implement several steps to address the problems.
“For the short-term solution, JANS will build a water storage tank at the plant but not all problems at 22 plants can be solved that way. To address problems at other plants, JANS will build ‘off river storage’ which is a large pond to store water from the river,” he said.
Bung Moktar also said that Sabah has been experiencing water supply problems for a long time and it has to be addressed soon.
“Therefore, I suggest that the Sabah Water Commission be established and this commission will be responsible for solving all water problems in the state,” he said. -Bernama
