SYARIKAT Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) stresses that the interuption in water supply in the Klang Valley beginning today is not a water rationing exercise due to insufficient supply or burst pipes but because it needs to undertake critical  repair works at the Sungai Selangor Phase 3 (SSP3) Plant.

According to Syabas, it considered doing repair works at the end of January but did not do so because of Chinese New Year celebrations in February.

"The faulty equipment at the SSP3 Plant was detected at the end of January 2018, and  as such emergency works need to be expedited avoid any potential water supply interruption.

However, Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor (Splash) and Syabas,  with the consent of the National Water Services Commission (Span),deferred repair works to avoid supply interruption during Chinese New Year celebrations on  16 & 17 February 2018 and Chap Goh Mei celebration on 2 March 2018.

Syabas gave assurances that there was enough water supply as things stood.

"The Selangor State Government has allocated financial resources for the construction of Semenyih 2 Plant which began operations on 1 March 2018, and the construction of Labohan Dagang Plant, which is expected to be completed in January 2019, with total expenditure of RM800 million to increase the capacity of treated water supply by 300 million litres per day to customers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

"The latest dam level readings show high and full levels with sufficient storage margin. Air Selangor has also managed to lower the Non Revenue Water (NRW) percentage from 32.6% in December 2016 to 30.1% by December 2017," it noted.

Based on the full levels of raw water at the dams, treated water supply was sufficient with treated water reserves having increased from 3.5% to 5.5% with the completion of Semenyih 2 Water Treatment Plant, and with the positive reduction in NRW, there  is no reason for water rationing, Syabas added.

"Customers have been given early notification through media notices, our interaction channels, Short Messaging Service (SMS) and handouts of notices to premises and critical areas beginning 2 March 2018 for customers to store sufficient water.

"We will also mobilise our assets and resources by despatching 79 water tanker lorries and 10 Jumbo water tanker lorries to provide assistance to affected customers as well as set-up  nine local service centres, which will operate for 24 hours starting March 6 2018, at 8am.