PETALING JAYA: Three burst pipes near the West Coast Highway (WCE) construction site have left thousands of residents in the Klang district high and dry.
Water supply to the royal town and its surroundings has been disrupted since Sunday, and indications are that consumers may have to wait awhile more before supply is restored.
Restoration works by Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) also hit a snag when one of the pipes that had already been fixed sprang a new leak.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said in a statement today that Air Selangor only realised the problem was more severe than anticipated when it was in the midst of repairing the damaged pipes.
“The pipes were displaced and dislocated at several spots when a new retaining wall constructed by WCE failed and caused soil movement that, in turn, displaced the pipes,” Xavier said.
“As a result, repair works have become tedious, difficult and risky,” he added. “There still are signs of soil movement at the retaining wall.”
He said Air Selangor would now have to assess the damage before repair works could resume.
The minister urged all affected consumers to be patient.
The water cut could not have come at a worse time. It began on the eve of the fasting month of Ramadan.
This round of water disruption comes just over a week after the scheduled water cut in several areas in the Klang Valley to accommodate upgrading work at the Sungai Selangor Phase 2 water treatment plant. More than four million users were affected.
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor said it had mobilised water tankers to ferry water to the affected areas. It has also activated two local service centres and provided three public water tap locations.
“We are taking all the necessary actions and measures to expedite the repair works and to reduce the impact of the water disruption on end users,” it said.
