KUALA LUMPUR: The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) will call for changes in Air Selangor senior management if it failed to restore water supply to all three million consumers in the Klang Valley by Friday night as promised.
SPAN chairman Charles Santiago said it would recommend the change to Selangor Menteri Besar, as the issue was a serious matter.
“If by 9pm on Friday (July 26), all affected consumers do not receive water supply, SPAN will request Selangor MB to make management change of Air Selangor, this is a warning,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
Santiago said the repair and upgrade works at the Sungai Selangor Water Treatment (WTP) Plant Phase 1 were unavoidable as the facility had been functioning 24/7 for the past seven years.
“It’s like a car that needs to be serviced after every 5,000km or 10,000km, to avoid disruptions such as leaking or problems to the engine.
“The WTP facility has been running non-stop for the past seven or eight years, it needs to be serviced too.
“We understand the people’s anger, but we urge them to understand the problem. SPAN will also monitor the situation on-site as well,” he added.
Santiago added that the repair and upgrade works are for the betterment of Klang Valley residents in the future.
“Water reservoir capacity in Selangor only stands at two per cent, but in reality we need 20 per cent if any untoward incident happens.
“Hopefully by end of the year, the water reservoir will go up to 8.7 per cent following the repairs works, and the availability of other new water treatment plants such as the Langat 2 facility,” he added.
Santiago said repairing and upgrading works would start on 9am on July 23 and it would take 12 hours to complete.
“The total disruption is 84 hours, as it takes time for the water to flow back to the homes after the works are completed. Some houses may get the water earlier, but it depends on their geography and altitude,” he said.
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) in a statement yesterday said a total of 758 areas in Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor, and Kuala Langat would be experiencing a scheduled water supply disruption between 36 and 84 hours from 9 am on July 23.
It said the water disruption will affect 758,570 account holders due to improvement works on water supply system at Sungai Selangor Phase 1 Water Treatment Plant (LRA SSP1).