KUCHIHG, June 19: Heavy vehicle movement involving construction works along Pan Borneo Highway caused a water main to burst in Bukit Song, Bekenu yesterday.
Areas expected to experience water shortage include Lambir area after Bukit Song, Bekenu area up to the coastal road area, Bukit Peninjau to Beluru as well as the hilly areas adjacent the burst pipe.
Water supply to Bekenu Pelat, Sulap Peps, Lelulit, Terahad, Kelompok Tentara, Kuala Sibuti, Rh Renang, Tiris, Tunah will take more than a week to recover.
The incident happened at about 4.15 pm where a water main of a 500mm diameter pipe was found to have burst.
The water pipe supplied water to the Bukit Song Water Plant. The broken pipe will result in little or no water being channelled to Bukit Song Reservoir.
This will cause low level of water or lack of water in the reservoir which will further cause low water pressure and result in air locks in the whole water distribution system.
Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) Miri will work with Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) to speed up the repair work on the pipeline so that the time length of water disruption in the affected areas may be shortened.
On the same day, JBALB Miri and LBU will deploy water tanker to affected areas as a temporary measure to solve water shortage problems.
JBALB Miri advises all residents affected by this incident to take preparatory steps by storing and conserving water. — DayakDaily
