KUALA LUMPUR: The storm which lashed Penang in the last few days, recorded a total of 320mm of rainfall at the Air Itam Dam, the highest to date.
In a statement today, Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said the new rainfall record exceeded the previous record of 270mm recorded on Sept 15 this year.
“There had been no previous recorded case of a storm that had generated such an impact in just 24 hours, in the history of PBAPP.
“The Air Itam dam capacity shot up by ten per cent overnight with landslides at various locations along Jalan Empangan Air Itam,” he said in statement today.
He adds that Jalan Empangan Air Itam has since been temporarily closed in the interest of public safety.
Jaseni said the heavy rainfall also affected other water supply installations in the state, including the Waterfall Water Treatment Plant, Guillemard Water Treatment Plant and Sungai Pinang Water Treatment Plant.
“Due to the issues mentioned, there was an unscheduled water supply interruption that affected some residents in the Jesselton, Pulau Tikus and Jalan Air Terjun areas for a few hours yesterday (Nov 5).
“PBAPP has since successfully addressed the issue by pumping more water from the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant to the affected areas,” he said.
Jaseni said there was also another unscheduled water supply interruption in the Farlim housing area due to a Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) power failure.
“Working with TNB, PBAPP had successfully normalised water supply in the Farlim area, as at 6.00am today.
“As of today, we have normalised water supply in all areas in the state, so that flood recovery works may commence quickly.
“PBAPP will continue to monitor and manage continuous good water supply in the State of Penang carefully over the next few weeks,” he said.
Consumers experiencing any water supply issues may call the PBAPP 24-hour call centre at 04 255 8255.