KUCHING: Water supply in Lawas has recovered to between 70 and 80 per cent following efforts to restore operations at the Batang Trusan raw water intake, which was affected by a natural phenomenon.
Minister of Utility and Telecommunication, Datuk Seri Julaihi Narawi, said the disruption was caused by natural occurrences that affected the raw water intake facility, making it difficult to maintain normal water collection operations.
He commended the Sarawak Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) for successfully managing the intake operations over the past few days, allowing water supply to consumers to be gradually restored.
“We know that the challenge in Lawas and Trusan is that our raw water intake facilities are affected by natural phenomena that are extremely difficult for us to control.
“But alhamdulillah, I would like to congratulate JBALB for successfully managing the operations at the Trusan raw water intake point over the past few days. This is the natural phenomenon that we are trying to address at the moment,” he said in a TVS report.
He was speaking at the JBALB Appreciation Ceremony here on Friday (Nov. 13).
According to JBALB, the disruption, which affected a large proportion of Lawas residents over the past two weeks, was attributed to natural phenomena and climate change factors, including the effects of El Niño.
The situation caused silt and sand from upstream areas to flow downstream and accumulate around the raw water intake structure, obstructing the process of drawing water to the treatment plant.
The accumulation of sand in the intake chamber also forced the plant to temporarily reduce its production capacity from 40 million litres per day (MLD) to 20 MLD.
Meanwhile, water supply coverage across Sarawak has increased from 85.6 per cent in 2025 to 86.1 per cent this year, while rural water supply coverage has reached 72 per cent.
The Sarawak Government is also planning to construct and upgrade 32 major water treatment plants, as well as develop a 2,934-kilometre water pipeline grid network across the state.
At the same event, Julaihi also commended JBALB for obtaining the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System certification from NIOSH Certification Sdn Bhd in September.
