PBAPP Will Implement New SPS Water Supply Contingency Plan From May 26

GEORGE TOWN, May 23 – A new “SPS Water Supply Contingency Plan” (SPS-WSCP 2022) will be implemented from this Thursday, 26.5.2022, to address water supply issues in the Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) residential areas. Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) will prioritise water supply to all registered domestic water consumers residing in SPS for 12 hours, from 6.01pm – 6.00am daily.

During these overnight hours, water supply to the Batu Kawan and Bukit Minyak industrial areas will be regulated, and more water will be pumped to residential areas in SPS. Since all domestic premises should be equipped with 24-hour water storage tanks, this measure will allow SPS domestic consumers to fill their water tanks and store sufficient water for use daily.

Meanwhile, from 6.01am – 6.00pm daily (12 hours), PBAPP will supply water “normally” throughout Seberang Perai, including the Batu Kawan and Bukit Minyak industrial areas. Since all industrial premises should be equipped with 48-hour water storage facilities, the SPS WSCP 2022 should not compromise the operations and productivity. Table A summarises the SPS-WSCP 2022 to address the water supply issue in SPS:

The SPS-WSCP 2022 is scheduled to be implemented from Thursday, 26.5.2022. Its implementation is likely to continue until the commissioning of Package 12A of the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (Sungai Dua WTP) in 2023. Package 12A is part of PBAPP’s Raw Water Contingency Plan 2030 (RWCP 2030), and it will increase the Sungai Dua WTP’s treated water production by 114MLD.

In the week of 16 – 22.5.2022, PBAPP recorded a sudden drop in pressure in SPS, specifically in the area spanning from Valdor to Sungai Bakap and Nibong Tebal. Due to this phenomenon, several PBAPP pump houses could not pump water to SPS.  As a result, 32,993 registered water consumers in SPS experienced “low water pressure” or “no water supply”. PBAPP investigations revealed the following:

• There were no major incidents of burst pipelines.
• There was no breakdown or mishap at the Sungai Dua WTP or Bukit Panchor WTP.
• Treated water output from the Sungai Dua WTP and Bukit Panchor WTP were at optimum levels.

Table B shows PBAPP’s water production report for the Sungai Dua WTP and Bukit Panchor WTP which produced treated water for supply to SPS:

As shown, PBAPP’s treated water production output on key dates from 30.4.2022 – 20.5.2022 was relatively constant, at an average of 999.0 MLD, with a maximum variation of 3.1%.  However,

• During the 2022 Worker’s Day and Hari Raya Aidil Fitri holidays, there were no water supply issues in SPS affecting 32,993 consumers.
• The water supply issue in SPS affecting 32,993 consumers surfaced from 16.5.2022.

Based on PBAPP investigations and data, the following are the likely causes of the SPS water supply issue affecting 32,993 water consumers:

1. High domestic water demand in the areas north of SPS. Due to the hot, dry weather, and increase in consumers during the Hari Raya season. 
2. Significantly higher water demand in the Batu Kawan and Bukit Minyak industrial areas after the holidays as existing factories ramped up operations in the Covid-19 endemic phase.
3. Additional water demand from new factories “coming online” and commencing operations in the Batu Kawan and Bukit Minyak industrial areas.

Kindly note that the volume of treated water supply from the Sungai Dua WTP and Bukit Panchor WTP has not decreased. Moreover, these WTPs are already operating at optimum capacity. Since there is no major problem with the water pipeline infrastructure in Seberang Perai, the logical conclusion is that demand for treated water in Seberang Perai increased significantly after the recent holiday period.

Short-term period, PBAPP is deploying water tankers and static water tanks to address the water needs of affected consumers in SPS and for Medium-term (2022 – 2023), From Thursday (26.5.2022), PBAPP will implement the SPS-WSCP 2022 to prioritise water supply to 32,993 consumers in SPS for 12 hours daily. Meanwhile, Phase 2 of the Sungai Dua WTP Sedimentation Tanks Upgrade is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.

Package 12A of the Sungai Dua WTP is scheduled for commissioning in 2023. These 2 projects will boost up the water treatment output of the Sungai Dua WTP by 205 MLD to ensure better water supply to SPS. Long-term (2025 – 2030), the following additional RWCP 2030 projects have been planned for commissioning in the period 2025 – 2028:

• Phase 1, Mengkuang Dam WTP (114 MLD)
• Phase 1, Sungai Muda WTP (114 MLD)
• Sungai Perai Water Supply Scheme (136 MLD)

All water consumers in SPS are advised to ensure that their 24-hour water storage tanks are connected to their internal plumbing systems and fully functional. Functional domestic water tanks will be automatically filled from 6.01pm – 6.00am daily, storing sufficient water for daily domestic usage. With the 12-hour cyclic implementation of the SPS-WSCP 2022, SPS domestic water consumers should have enough water to use every day.

All trade category water consumers in the Batu Kawan and Bukit Minyak industrial areas are also advised to ensure that their 48-hour water storage facilities are fully functional before 26.5.2022. Refilling of industrial-grade water storage facilities in 12-hourly cycles will ensure that manufacturing operations and productivity are not affected by the SPS-WSCP 2022.