Sanusi said an automatic sensor failure at one of the barrages on the Muda river had led to the floodgates being opened suddenly, letting what he called “super large quantities” of river water flow out to sea.

“This caused the level of Sungai Muda to drop sharply and affected the intake of several water treatment plants and thus the water supply to several areas,” he said after visiting the site earlier today.

Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd said the water treatment plants in Sungai Petani and Pinang Tunggal had to stop operations temporarily.

About 252,000 consumers in Kuala Muda, Kulim and part of Baling in southern Kedah have been affected by water supply disruptions since 5am because of the damage to the Muda river barrage.

The Penang water supply corporation (PBA) said there would be supply disruptions from today until Wednesday, affecting thousands of consumers in Seberang Perai’s three districts and in southern parts of Penang island.

PBA CEO K Pathmanathan said the Muda water level had dropped by half to 1m instead of the normal 2m. As a result, the corporation could not abstract raw water for treatment. The river is the main source of raw water for Penang.

He said PBA was not sure when full production of treated water would resume, as that was dependent on the river water level returning to 2m or more.