Serian’s water problems tackled for now with upgrading of reservoir

The Star: KUCHING: The upgrading works on a reservoir and treatment plant in Slabi will help alleviate the water shortage problem in Serian but it will only be a respite.

Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong believes taps would run dry again with the growing population in the area.

He said providing treated water was one of the hardest tasks to accomplish since it all boiled down to the availability of a water source.

“Even if we were to inject millions of ringgit for a plant or to lay down piping, the most important part of it all is securing a good water source first.


For the next 10 years: The water treatment plant in Slabi is currently undergoing upgrading to help alleviate the water shortage problem in Serian.
“If we don’t have that, then having a treatment plant is of no use,” he told Sarawak Star.

Manyin said the water source for the Serian area was insufficient and foresaw that the current source with the upgraded reservoir and treatment plant could only provide supplies for the next 10 years.

He said he was certain that after that period, Serian would face a water shortage again with the upcoming development in the area and the population boom.

In September, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud announced an allocation of RM200mil to upgrade the reservoir and treatment plant. It is expected to be completed by 2012.

The facility was upgraded in 2006 with the building of a new prefabricated treatment plant with a capacity of 10mil litres of treated water per day (MLD). Currently, the Slabi plant produces 22.4 MLD.

However, this apparently was still insufficient and the treatment plant was supposed to be further upgraded to provide a capacity of 50 MLD. This upgrading was scheduled for implementation at the end of the Ninth Malaysia plan, but till today, was not completed.

The 10MLD prefabricated treatment plant was an interim measure before the completion of the proposed new 50MLD treatment plant.

Manyin was uncertain if Serian would be able to source water from the Bengoh dam, which is the closest, once it completes construction.

Asked if there was a need to create a water source such as a dam in Serian, Manyin said this was not easy to do as the magnitude of such a project would require great planning and coordination.

“A dam is a huge project. You will need to do a feasibility and social-impact study first. Then look into relocating villages as well as land compensation.

“All this cost millions and time,” he said.

At the moment, the majority of the Serian population rely on gravity-fed water.

Several villages in Serian have been living with interrupted water supply for some time. They also claimed that, while their taps ran dry, the water meter was running. Hence, every month, they were required to pay for nothing.

Some of the affected villagers include Kampung Panchor, Kampung Bunga, Kampung Baru, Kampung Ta’ee.

The old reservoir in Stabun could no longer be used and the treatment plant is forced to supply whatever amount it can pump for the day, hence the low pressure.

Due to this, the treatment plant can only build pressure later in the night resulting in some areas receiving water only in the wee hours of the morning.

http://tribune.my

KUCHING: Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot is not unduly worried over the DAP’s claims that the Bidayuh, who form the majority of constituents in the Serian parliamentary seat, were warming towards the opposition.

The Serian Member of Parliament and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) deputy president said he was confident with the esprit de corps among the state Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, especially Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the BN could still retain the seat convincingly.

“I know my strengths and weaknesses as I have been working very hard on the ground over the past 20 years...but, on the other hand, I do not want to be over-confident,” he told Bernama here yesterday.

DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had claimed that the big attendance at a DAP talk in Serian last Saturday night, was an indication of increasing acceptance of the opposition by the Bidayuh in the district.

However, Riot, who is likely to be fielded for a sixth term in the coming general election, refuted such claims because about 70 per cent of the attendees were Iban from the neighbouring parliamentary constituency of Sri Aman, where land matters relating to native customary rights remained a thorny issue.

“He (Guan Eng) can claim whatever he wants.This is a democratic country,” he said, adding that the question of whether the Bidayuh were still solidly behind the BN government should be decided at the ballot boxes.Although Serian is considered one of the “safest” among the seven parliamentary seats traditionally allocated to SUPP, Riot, as SUPP’s sole Bidayuh Member of Parliament, believes he has the upper hand, having been active on the ground since he began his political career in 1990.

– Bernama