Water pipe repairs to take another day
Consumers in Inanam, along Tuaran Road, Kolombong, Damai, Luyang and Likas areas will have to bear with dry taps for at least another day as repairs to a pipe damaged by a contractor are being carried out.
KOTA KINABALU: Consumers in Inanam, along Tuaran Road, Kolombong, Damai, Luyang and Likas areas will have to bear with dry taps for at least another day.
State Water Department director Amarjit Singh said the problem was due to damage caused by a contractor to one of the major pipes from Moyog to the R3 reservoir in Likas.
“We have started doing repair works which are expected to be completed by tomorrow and water supply will resume gradually in the afternoon,” he said.
Commenting on public complaints about the water situation in the affected areas, Amarjit said, the department received the report on the damaged pipe at 6 pm on Saturday, May 20.
“We were informed that one of our major transmission pipes from Moyog, a 800mm pipe, was damaged by some construction workers. After checking we found that the pipe was damaged by SESB’s contractor doing cable work there.
“The contractor did not refer to the department for the Right of Way to do the work. They hit our pipe which was at a depth of about three metres and the damage resulted in stoppage of water supply to the R3 Reservoir in Likas that is located along Jalan Perkuburan Tiong Hua Kolombong,” he said.
Amarjit said R3 Likas supplies water to Inanam, along Tuaran Road, Kolombong, Damai, Luyang and Likas areas covering about 20,000 consumers.
Repair works has started but as of 6 pm Sunday, there were still some problems in the repair works and one of the issues faced was the weather as it prevented them from completing the work.
Amarjit said, the crack in the pipe was repaired with a metal plate but unfortunately at 9 am yesterday, the temporary repair gave way.
So it was decided to cut the damaged section and replace it with a short piece but this will take time, he said, adding: “the pipe is located so deep under ground and for the safety of the workers, we need to do some shoring around it (to prevent a collapse). Sheet piling will start by this afternoon as safety is very important.
He expressed the hope that the repairs will be completed by today and for the water supply to resume gradually in the afternoon.
“We have diverted some supply from Telibong II to UMS reservoir for supply to Kampung Likas area and also opened the water supply from City Mall reservoir to help Kolombong area,” he disclosed.