This year, there has been an unprecedented spate of multiple water disruptions due to various reasons by our water supply company, Syabas, causing much suffering to consumers beholden to their abysmal services.

Just last week, more than one million consumers in Selangor were rudely given an unscheduled seventh water disruption in a year after contaminants from Sungai Buah in Nilai triggered alarm bells at the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment plant in Dengkil and supply was ceased.

This was just too much to bear for many long-suffering paying consumers especially in the USJ area - who have been affected way too many times in the past. Previous disruptions were also due to contaminants in Sungai Semenyih, burst pipes, drought, and unscheduled repairs due to faulty old equipment.

Having mulled at length about the dire predicament we were in and the possible scenario of man-made tragedy befalling us again, I strongly urge the relevant authorities like Syabas, Selangor Water Management Board (Luas), the Department of Environment (DOE), the National Water Management Commission (Span), etc to devise, plan, brainstorm and effectively implement feasible contingency plans to:

1. a. Deter water pollutants immediately by bringing them to book.

b. Ensure all affected paying clients receive on-schedule water supply from sufficient water tankers whenever there is a disruption.

c. Work closely and efficiently with all relevant authorities in the recently formed bi-partisan task-force and have a command centre to communicate with ease effectively, with the clients’ interests being paramount.

2. As is the norm in any rational caring society, we ask for the immediate resignation of all incompetent top management personnel concerned for taking their eye off the ball and not making contingency plans to ensure quality water is delivered at all times. Apart from the normal standard operating procedures (SOPs), there should be thinkers and doers outside the box to envisage water contamination from outlying tributaries feeding into the main rivers.

There should be constant monitoring of all their water sources. Indeed, they should have made such plans on such a precious commodity as safe water consumption - from source to consumer. Paying clients have been repeatedly given short shrift with lack of proper planning, lack of communication with relevant authorities, and pathetic service.

3. Clandestinely visit all the factories along, near our rivers, tributaries, water catchment areas to detect water pollution.

4. Garner all details on them pertaining to their waste water management.

5. Immediately report all findings to the relevant authorities

6. Meet the factory management/shareholders consistently for updates

7. Have informative nightly stakeholders’ engagements with all disgruntled consumers affected due to water pollution and educate us on what proactive steps you are taking to eradicate this deadly matter. There might also be symbiotic beneficial ideas offered by consumers to benefit the task-force.

8. Ensure that everything is properly planned and implemented - not in the normal Syabas manner.

9. Ensure there are sufficient water tankers during every water crisis. If that means renting more water trucks from others, so be it.

10. Open up more telecommunication lines and ensure it is properly and sufficiently manned by competent personnel in Syabas. Many of us are unable to get through to your hotline for much-needed information. Also, please disseminate all important phone numbers of the Syabas management so paying clients can voice our disgruntlement and seek pertinent information. They should be pro-active and concerned about our plight, too.

Fifty percent rebate proposal

11. Fifty percent rebate in the next water bill to all those affected by the past seven crises . As a show of justifiable and civil contrition.

12. Deploy residents living along rivers, tributaries, supply routes, water catchment areas to report water pollution activities. Reward them for relevant whistle-blowing vigilantism.

13. Ensure that old pipes are checked and replaced regularly to deter any further water disruptions in future. The health and welfare of paying consumers are paramount.

14. Increase daily collection of water samples to deter polluters and ‘water terrorists’ from hurting us. Also deploy ample and properly trained ‘odour specialists’ to detect pollution.

15. Increase meetings with all relevant task-force members to share pertinent details and then share all details in a transparent manner to consumers.

16. Compile a report on what pro-active steps are being immediately taken and for the mid/long-term to deter water pollution/cuts, etc. Brainstorm collectively with water specialists on other ideas to ensure such pernicious disruptions cease.

17. Early and competent detection to give clients ample time prior to water cuts in future so that water can be stored.

18. All roads, bypasses to waterways should be gated, guarded and secured 24/7 complete with CCTV cameras.

19. All factories - legal and illegal - along waterways should be scrutinised and audited without fear or favour about their waste disposal.

20. All illegal factories being allowed to operate currently should be immediately told to stop and then prosecuted.

21. No factories producing toxic waste should ever be allowed to operate within the vicinity of waterways.

22. Give clients proper and accurate scheduling of water tankers schedules. Currently, it is a mess.

23. Review, brainstorm and report vast improvements on your current Emergency Response Plan (ERP). Currently, it is pathetic and abysmal to the detriment of all your paying clients.

24. Should it get contaminated again, a prudent standby plan to divert water from the Semenyih Water Treatment plant into another reserve plant to cater for affected areas like Petaling and USJ.

24. Re-strategise, re-think, improve, and implement expediently and efficiently your Water Quality Improvement Master Plan to improve further on the quality of water distributed to paying clients. Presently, it is third world quality.

25. Pro-actively think out of the box for solutions, contingencies and prudent planning to solve all water woes. Do not wait for a crisis to happen and then react tardily.

26. Cooperate with all relevant authorities without undue rancour and fruitless chest-thumping - which is detrimental to the welfare of consumers.

Initiatives to preserve environs for future sustainability

As per Syabas’ mandate, it is essential for Syabas to indulge in initiatives to preserve the environment for future sustainability - which includes avoidance of water pollution, etc. Please disseminate exactly what steps Syabas is undertaking to ensure water pollution never happens again after failing abysmally for the past three times in less than 60 days to deter water pollution.

If Syabas is a “caring corporate citizen that serves the interest of our consumers, the environment and society at large” - as espoused in its website, we strongly urge them to keep their promises and please implement all these measures without any delay.

Syabas should live up to its Client Charter - “We are a water company committed to providing excellent water services to consumers”. It is currently a running punchline which is antithetical to everything they dish out.

At the end of the day, disgruntled consumers have every right to be peeved. Water disruptions - be it man-made by ‘water terrorists’, apathetic in nature by the powers that be, natural droughts, cost-savings by Syabas or due to incompetence by the authorities - it has been the norm - much to the detriment of the rakyat.

There have been incidences of the elderly and children falling sick due to water contamination - before and after water cuts - as the water in the immediate aftermath of resumption is allegedly dirty.

Many have had their Deepavali celebrations curtailed and open houses cancelled due to water disruption. What makes it worse is there is absolutely no apologies whatsoever to neither the deprived celebrants nor to all affected consumers.

The rakyat doesn’t care two hoots about third world mentality ‘pass the buck’ excuses. They’d rather the warring factions work amicably, responsibly and empathetically towards the common goal of delivering quality water to paying consumers.

The task-force recently set up by the responsible parties concerned and mooted by Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Azmin Ali is a first step on a long responsible bi-partisan journey. We certainly hope that this much needed noble cause won’t be sabotaged by politicians who only care about votes and not the rakyat at large.

Bouquets also ought to be given to the underlings at Syabas - the tanker drivers and assistants who had to bear the consumer wrath meant for their top management. They ought to be applauded for working around the clock in helping to dispense water, despite scarcity in truck provision.

There were also the unsung heroes and heroines in our community who assisted in many ways, shape and form many for the destitute residents cruelly inflicted by these frequent disruptions. The likes of grassroots stalwarts in my USJ 12 area - Azman, Raymond, Bala, Suaran, Indy - just to name a few - were in the forefront of sterling community service in helping others whilst USJ was besieged by water woes.

These were the bright spots that proven time and again, the rakyat always come together in times of tragedy without prejudicial thoughts whatsoever.

A little pro-activeness, care, empathy and remorse goes a long way in assuaging poor handling of a precious resource that we have in abundance but is woefully mismanaged.