Residents here have been stocking up on bottled water since the disruptions began on Saturday, with many people buying up to five cartons for each family, according to Tan, a shopkeeper at a grocery here.
“We have sold around 80 to 90 cartons (of bottled water) since the shop opened at 7.50am today,” the 21-year-old told FMT.
After the sun had set, numerous residents of Setia Pearl Island queued up to fill their buckets with water brought by the volunteer fire brigade association of Berapit and Bukit Mertajam.
A resident from Kampung Masjid Sungai Ara here, who preferred to be known as Yazid, 44, said the water supply at his house recovered in the afternoon but water pressure was low.
However, he said the low water pressure was nothing new for his village, believing that old piping was the cause for this constant problem.
“I hope that the Penang water supply corporation (PBA) will replace the old water pipes in my village,” he said.
Several residents of the Setia Pearl Island housing estate feared that their houses’ water tanks would not be able to last until Thursday, the day the state government said water supply would be fully restored.
Dhinesh Sasidaran, a father of two, said he and his wife have been trying their best to conserve water since yesterday but expect their tank to be emptied by tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile, YK Wong, 53, LS Ong, 52 and PG Soh, 42, said the neighborhood has experienced water disruptions four times since the Baling floods that hit Kedah in July last year.
They also said Setia Pearl Island would be the first to experience water disruptions and the last to have its supply restored whenever there are disruptions in the Sungai Ara area.
They said the water tank built by the developer at the neighborhood’s hillside area has not been fulfilling residents’ needs. They claimed that only residents from Phase 3 of the neighbourhood get water from the tank, while those from Phase 1 and 2 do not have access to it.
Soh added that several complaints had been lodged with PBA, but there was no follow-up to any of them.
Better water infrastructure needed
Dhinesh and Ong said the latest water disruptions should make the Penang government think of a sustainable water supply infrastructure for the entire state.
“There is no proper infrastructure for water supply and flood mitigation, yet we are pushing for more reclamation projects to build more developments,” lamented Dhinesh.
Ong said the state should put a check on the swathe of housing developments in the state as it would further strain its water resources in the future.
Wong urged the state government to channel water from the Mengkuang dam in Bukit Mertajam to the island, rather than continuing to depend on water from the Muda river in Kedah.
Earlier today, PBA chief executive K Pathmanathan said over 40,000 consumers were still facing no water or low water pressure in the southwest Penang island.
The localities affected are Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Jalan Sungai Tiram, Penang airport, Bayan Lepas, Gertak Sanggul, Sungai Batu, Pulau Betong, Permatang Mayang Pasir, Batu Hitam, Jalan Pondok Upeh and Jalan Teluk Kumbar.
Water supply recovery in Seberang Perai and Penang island had reached 90% as of 9am.