KUALA LUMPUR: Air Selangor has done a detailed investigation to establish the cause of its burst pipes that led to three sinkholes in the city centre in as many days.
However, the utility giant, officially known as Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd is not stating is findings or why its underground pipes burst.
In a long overdue statement today, its Corporate Communications Department head Halem Mat Som said that as of now, it has completed repair works in all three affected areas.
He said that a “detailed investigation has been conducted to determine the exact cause of the incidents, particularly within the 48 hour period”.
Halem however said there are various factors that could cause the bursts.
“Among them are the movement of soil caused by vibration or hard pound. This is usually the case when the pipe is not far from a construction site or the pipe position is right below the road surface,” he broadly hinted.
Halem also said soil movement can also be caused by groundwater flow due to rain which causes the soil structure to soften and result in broken pipes due to soil erosion that no longer holds the pipe.
“Pipe bursts can also occur due to high water pressure where the pipes cannot handle pressure, especially old asbestos cement (AC) pipes.”
He however stated that Air Selangor has taken pertinent steps to avoid such incidents from repeating.
“Relating to the incident involving a sinkhole on Jalan Maharajalela, Air Selangor will carry out the redistribution of water pressure until it reaches optimum levels.”
“This includes installing an endcap on the pipe at the side of the road and carrying out tapping relocation for 10 customer premises receiving water from the affected pipeline.”
On sinkholes in Jalan Pinang and Jalan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), Air Selangor found that a 300mm asbestos cement (AC) pipe had burst.
“As an immediate action, Air Selangor installed a pressure logger to analyse the pressure profile to stabilise the water supply system in the area. In the meantime, valve control was carried out immediately as well as pressure monitoring at the 'target point'.”
Halem said the pipes in front of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) are also asbestos cement (AC) pipes that have been around for over 30 years.
“In addition to heavy vehicles and high traffic on this route, vibrations or movement of soil from the development in the surrounding area can also cause the aged water pipes to break.”
He said Air Selangor’s long-term plan is to replace this asbestos cement pipes and has identified approximately 438km of such pipes to be replaced, and to date, 365.16km of such pipes have been replaced.
Air Selangor will continue to monitor the optimal distribution of water to all users in the city centre without putting pressure on existing pipes.
Three sinkholes appeared in Kuala Lumpur, two within 700 meters of each other on Jalan Maharajalela and the main gate of Dewan Bahasa Pustaka on Sunday night and Tuesday morning respectively.
The one on Jalan Maharajalela that appeared first was 3m and partially swallowed a car.
The driver however escaped unhurt.
The other sinkhole appeared on Jalan Pinang on Tuesday morning.