KUALA LUMPUR: The water supply in 274 areas affected in the recent disruptions brought about by the closures of two water treatment plants, will be fully restored by 6pm on Friday.
Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Suhaimi Kamaralzaman said the water supply would be restored in stages, starting from 6pm tomorrow.
The water supply disruption is due to the temporary shut down of Sungai Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi treatment plants due to pollution.
"By 12am tonight users will start to see water trickling in," he said in a press conference aired live on Facebook here today.
He also confirmed that the treatment plant in Sungai Semenyih has already been up and running since this morning.
Odour pollution had forced the utility company to shut down the Sungai Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi water treatment plants on Sunday afternoon.
The shutdown had resulted in taps running dry for 1.3 million consumers or 309,000 ratepayers from 274 areas in the districts of Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang.
On Monday, Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan said the odour pollution is suspected to have originated from the Nilai Industrial Estate in Negri Sembilan.
He said preliminary investigations found that the polluted water entered Sungai Semenyih from Sungai Batang Benar, which is close to the industrial area.
Selangor Environment, Green Technology and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian had said that a duck and chicken farm near Sungai Pajam was also one of the establishments under suspicion as it had done a major clean up on the morning of the incident.
Asked if the source of the pollution had been found, Suhaimi told reporters to check with the ministry.
He also did not state the damages incurred by the latest setbacks.
Earlier Suhaimi said that by 6pm tomorrow (Oct 7) water would be fully restored to 145 areas affected.
On October 8, another 91 areas would experience full restoration in water supply. On October 9, water supply would be resorted to the remaining 38 areas.
He said the treated water would also be tested so that it complied with the Heath Ministry standards of quality and safety.
This disruption comes on the heels of a similar incident last month that affected 1,292 areas in the Klang Valley, Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Kuala Langat for almost a week.
At the time, Air Selangor reported that pollution at Sungai Gong, the raw water source for Sungai Selangor water treatment plants in Phases 1, 2 and 3, as well as Rantau Panjang had forced the plants to shutdown .
A total of 98 tankers have been deployed by the state owned utility company. While 26 static tanks, 11 filing stations, 9 local service stations (PKS) and 13 public taps have been made available.
For updates and a list of recovery schedule by location and location for alternative water supply visit www.airselangor.com, Air Selangor's social media sites, or download the Air Selangor app from Google Play or the Apps Store.