About 120,000 workers in Penang will experience a water cut to enable diversion work from a broken pipe at the foot of Sungai Perai, said its chief executive, Chow Kon Yeow.
He added that consumers in the south-west region will be affected by the water cut, the date of which has not yet been determined. The broken hull brought water from Butterworth to at least half of the island’s customers. In the last two months, the pipe broke three times after it was repaired.
Chow said the pipeline diversion work is ongoing and the pipeline has been temporarily moved over the river. “The next flood will not be like the previous one as it will take only 16 hours to complete (the move).
“The water will be restored in less than a day,” he said while inspecting the diversion project near Ampang Jajar. Diversion work has already started on the banks of Sungai Peri, including two pipelines installed near Ampang Jajar Bridge.
Part of the bridge will also be closed, with only one side open during the work. Once the diversion is completed, Chow said, the other three pipelines on the same riverbed will be diverted.
The tailings from the Butterworth Water Treatment Works crossed the Perai River in four different directions, one of which is now a diversion point.
