Upgrading treatment plant to solve school’s water woes proposed
SIBU: Upgrading of the aging water treatment plant at SMK Ulu Balingian has been proposed as a long term solution to end the school’s water woe.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun said yesterday the proposed upgrading which would cost between RM1.5 million and RM2 million would take eight months to a year to implement.
SMK Ulu Balingian with 531 students, 458 of whom are boarders has been beset by water supply problem since 2015.
Entulu, who is also the Selangau MP said the upgrading wil l comprise repairing damaged pipes, pumps, control panel, pontoon and filtration system.
“A comprehensive approach is necessary as the problem stemmed from the aging water treatment plant and piping system which is more than 30 years old.
“Henc e , b a s e d on t he r e c om me n d a t i o n s by Implementation Coordination Unit ( ICU) under the Prime Minister’s Department, we believe the long term solution if implemented will put an end to the school’s water supply problem,” he told The Borneo Post in a statement yesterday.
On short term solutions, he said it included replacement of the existing pumps at an estimated cost of RM250,000.
There was also a need to replace the main pipe - asbestos cement pipe to polypipe and piping in f lats, quarters, hostel and all buildings (within a distance of 2km) - estimated to cost between RM400,000 and RM500,000.
“The immediate action proposed is supplying of 400 and 600-gallon water tanks,” Entulu said.
The long and shor t term solutions to address the water supply problem were proposed by a team from ICU who visited the school on March 27 to find out the cause of the water supply disruption.
Senior private secretary to Entulu, Bayang Ringkat led the team compprising senior officer from ICU Siti Fatimah Hussin, and representatives from Selangau Education District Office, Rural Water Supply Depa r tment Sibu division, Parent-TeacherAssociation ( PTA) and local community leaders to visit the school.
Among the problems identified were burst pipes, damaged pumps, pontoon, control panel and gate valve.
The asbestos cement pipes are 31 years old, exceeding the maximum shelf life of 20 years.
SMK Ulu Balingian is about 30 km from Selangau.