Telipok water woes due to pipe bursts
Published on: Wed, May 28, 2025
By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: A technician welds a 'bend joint' along the leaking MSCL distribution main in Taman Puterajaya. A series of pipe bursts is to blame for the water woes which Telipok consumers, off Mile 13 Jalan Tuaran, have been experiencing for some time. The fluctuating levels at the reservoir overlooking Donggongon, on the other hand, has given rise to the erratic supply which their counterparts, living off Jalan Minintod-Bantayan in Penampang, have been receiving for over a month In view of this, the Water Department will be monitoring the supply to Taman Puterajaya and Country Heights Apartments, to try and minimise any unnecessary disruptions from occurring at both properties over the coming Harvest Festival- Agung's Birthday public holidays. A spokesman for the agency said one of its contractors was in the midst of repairing a section of a Mid-Steel-Cement-Lined (MSCL) pipe in Taman Puterajaya which sprung a leak on Tuesday. 'The emergency work on the distribution main, with a diameter of 200 millimetres, got underway from 9.30am yesterday,' he said. 'Consumers in the vicinity were notified a half an hour earlier to use what reserves they had in their storage tanks sparingly.'
Advertisement This was the third such notice which the Department had issued to the public about a burst in this part of Telipok since the beginning of month. The earlier notices were issued on May 3 and May 25, according to the spokesman. 'Different parts of the same MSCL pipe which spans some 800 metres on Lorong Puterajaya 2 have become damaged in each instance. 'This has happened due to wear and tear as the main was first installed beneath the verge here years ago. 'Contrary to what some quarters may think, it is not a case of shoddy workmanship on the part of our technicians as the leaks did not happen in the same section of the supply-line.' Aside from those in the neighbourhood, the spokesman said, the repairs also affected consumers at the Apartments and Shophouses in Puterajaya area. 'Our tankers have been going around the affected properties from time to time to deliver treated water to these individuals.' Where Country Heights was concerned, the spokesman said the supply to the property had been affected by falling levels the agency's R6B reservoir. 'The diminishing volume at the Donggongon reservoir was only a temporary setback which happened for a few days last week and over the weekend,' he said. 'We managed to raise the levels somewhat this week to improve the supply to the Apartments.' A spokesman for the company, which manages Country Heights, said the property had periodically lost its main incoming supply between 10pm and 6am since April. 'Even when the supply did not disappear, the pressure was very low,' he said. 'It was only about five to 10 per cent of what it should be.' 'Owing to this, there was not enough water in our ground tanks for us to give our tenants a supply the following morning.' He said the firm generally released water for a few hours twice a day – once in the morning and then at night. 'The management has had to control the flow of water from our elevated and ground tanks to the 6,000 occupants on the property. If the supply is not controlled, then those living on the upper floors would have no chance of getting any water at all.' The spokesman said this task had become exceedingly difficult since April 17, when there had intermittently been 'zero' input to the Apartments' tanks at night. He said multiple calls had been made to the Department's Careline since then about the water woes at Country Heights. 'On May 13, we wrote to the agency about this problem. We are still waiting to receive an official response to our correspondence.' The Department spokesman said one of its technicians went to Country Heights, shortly after being contacted by the media last week. 'He found that water was reaching the bulk-meter but the pressure of the supply was low,' he said. 'A security guard for the Apartments even climbed up to a balancing tank for the property and noted that that the supply was barely entering the receptacle.' The spokesman said the agency's staff had been keeping an eye on the property since then. 'If things take a turn for the worse, we will consider sending a tanker to replenish the contents of the ground tank for the property.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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