Article in the Star

TAPS in Subang Jaya ran dry this week due to low water level at the Lapangan Terbang Subang reservoir.

Thousands of residents were left high and dry as the disruption in water supply occurred without notice.

In a statement, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) said the shortage was due to high demand during the current hot spell.

However, Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh said she found the reason unacceptable.

“It was just two or three days of hot weather and not a prolonged period without rain.

“If Syabas knows the water level is dropping, it should quickly source for alternatives,” she said.

In the statement, Syabas said about 15,000 accounts in SS12 to SS19 were affected.

It received 260 complaints from consumers.

Yeoh said many residents complained that calls to Puspel, the helpline for Syabas, went unanswered.

“My office was flooded with calls instead, and we had no answer for them,” Yeoh said.

Although Syabas said it had allocated 10 water tankers to be dispatched to the affected areas, Yeoh complained that the tankers were only sent to residents who requested for the supply via SMS or Twitter.

She said Syabas should take the initiative to plan the distribution of water to affected areas instead of waiting for the residents to contact them.

Yeoh said that water supply in SS14 and SS15 resumed on Wednesday afternoon and in SS17, SS18 and SS19 on Thursday morning.

Yeoh said she had raised the same concerns in April 2011 during a water shortage, but that such problems persisted.

Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen, meanwhile, rapped Syabas for not fixing burst pipes.

Wong said he hoped the newly appointed Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili would take a moderate approach in handling the water issue in the Klang Valley with the state government.

Meanwhile, Yeoh said her service centre at 113A, Jalan SS14/1 in Subang Jaya is open from 10am to 5pm from Mondays to Fridays.

The office will also be open on Tuesday nights from 8pm to 10pm after the swearing-in ceremony.

Wong said he would most probably set up his service centre at the unit above Yeoh’s office.