SIBU: The water disruption problem in the Kemuyang, Sibu Jaya, Rascom Camp and its surrounding areas over the past two weeks was due to a main pipe leak which resulted in an unusual increase in water consumption at several important premises.
Sibu Water Board (SWB) General Manager, Abdul Malik Abdullah @ Itin Langit, said investigations found that two main locations, namely Sibu Hospital and Sibu Airport, showed a significant surge in water consumption, believed due to internal leaks.
“Water consumption at Sibu Hospital increased from 0.5 million litres per day (MLD) to 1.0 MLD.
“This has caused the monthly bill to jump from RM15,000 to RM30,000.
“This data indicates that there is a high possibility of a leak in the hospital’s plumbing system,” he said during a press conference at SWB’s premises today.
Abdul Malik commented that Sibu Airport also recorded a similar increase, from 0.3 MLD to 0.6 MLD, and SWB did not rule out the possibility of a similar problem occurring at the premises.
To address the situation, he explained that SWB had taken steps to temporarily limit the flow of water to the two premises in question, to avoid a worse impact on the surrounding residential areas.
“This measure is aimed at ensuring that the water pressure returns to stability, especially for areas such as Kemuyang, Sibu Jaya and Rascom Camp,” he said.
He informed that the water pressure in the Sibu Jaya area had shown signs of recovery in the past two to three days.
“However, several areas in high altitudes are still experiencing supply disruptions.
“The management of Sibu Hospital and Sibu Airport has been informed of the issue, and repair work is expected to commence soonest,” he said.
He emphasised that if the internal leakage was not repaired, the water pressure would remain low.
“This forces us to continue to implement water flow control to certain premises to ensure that the supply to residential areas is not disrupted,” he added.
Meanwhile, Abdul Malik also informed that the soil structure in Sibu, which consists of more than 60 per cent peat soil, causes a higher risk of pipes settling and bursting, especially for pipes that are more than 30 years old.
“Every day we receive an average of two reports of main pipe leaks and five communication pipe leaks (pipes connected to the house).
“This makes more than 210 leak cases reported every month in the Sibu area alone,” he explained.
Abdul Malik called on residents who need clean water assistance through tanker delivery, or seek to report about pipe leaks, to immediately contact the SWB hotline at 013-8106311.
