SIBU, Oct 21: Water supply issues that have plagued the residents of Sibu Jaya will be a thing of the past come December.
Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) deputy chairman Wong Ching Yong described the expected completion of the pipe laying project in December as a Christmas present for the 33,000 odd residents of Sibu Jaya at a press conference today.
According to Wong, the Kanowit Phase 2 project which will supply water to Kanowit, Machan, Durin areas and partly supplement KJD and Sibu Jaya areas will be completed in December.
He said the scope of works for this project is to lay approximately 53km of various sizes of pipeline from Salim Water Treatment Plant to Kanowit, including the construction of the Durin booster station and elevated reservoir at Bukong Jagoi and other associated works.
“Currently, approximately 0.37km out of 1.87km has already been laid, and the process is expected to be completed by December. Once completed, water pressure in Sibu Jaya will be improved,” he said.
Chairman Sempurai Petrus Ngelai said this water issue has been around during his two terms helming the council for about four years.
“Residents of the 20 flats in Sibu Jaya were most affected by this water issue. The water issue happens as Sibu Jya is located on higher ground. For residents to have water, the pressure must be very high o else they will either experience low water pressure or no water at all, especially those living in the flats,” he said.
To alleviate the problem, he said the council had placed large water tanks at all the flats for Sibu Water Board (SWB) to store water every day for the residents.
“We have been receiving a lot of reports from the affected residents and those in the surrounding areas, though the water issue is not under SRDC. We have to come out to explain the issue as the people don’t have much information on it,” he said.
Sempurai said the long term solution to the problem is for the state water grid system to be extended to Sibu Jya.
“According to SWB, they have 6,000 accounts in Sibu Jaya. This water issue cropped up due to the increasing population in Sibu Jaya where the supply could not meet the demand,” he explained. — DayakDaily
