Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari speaks during a weekly media conference at the State Secretariat Building in Shah Alam, October 7, 2021. — Bernama pic
SHAH ALAM, Oct 7 — Water supply disruptions in Selangor are expected to be reduced following improvement and maintenance work on critical assets that will force the closure of the Sungai Selangor Phase 1 water treatment plant from October 13.
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said that the maintenance conducted from October 13 to 16 is actually scheduled maintenance that was postponed since 2019 and 2020 and had been approved by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).
“In 2019, the maintenance was very near to an unscheduled disruption that occurred at that time, while in 2020, it was (postponed due to) the enforcement of the movement control order and we did not want any disruption of supply to happen during its enforcement.
“The scheduled maintenance must be conducted to avoid any damage. In 2016, there was an explosion at a water treatment plant in the state in which an officer was injured and it caused a week-long water disruption,” he told reporters during his weekly media conference here today.
Amirudin said since the state government took over the water supply management under Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor), they had reviewed the scheduled maintenance.
He also said that the water disruption issue in Selangor was usually due to three factors — inadequate raw water supply during drought or pollution, operational failure at water treatment plants and unforeseen factors.
Air Selangor previously said in a statement that 998 areas in the Klang Valley will experience scheduled water disruptions from October 13 to 16 following upgrading work.
They include Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Langat and Kuala Selangor districts.
On the recent flash floods in Shah Alam, Amirudin said the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) has taken immediate steps by allocating expenditure of RM7 million for additional pumps to address the issue.
Amirudin said 78 projects have been completed with a total allocation of RM425.23 million under the 11th Malaysia Plan to address flooding in Selangor.
“The Selangor Department of Irrigation and Drainage has also asked for RM1.3 billion to solve the flooding issue holistically in flood-prone areas,” he said. — Bernama