The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) will deploy 99 tanker lorries to deliver water to consumers affected by a scheduled disruption starting from Wednesday (Jan 10).

PBAPP CEO K Pathmanathan said this is the largest fleet of water tankers ever used in the history of Penang’s water supply, including 27 “Jumbo Tankers” that are rented and can hold up to 40,000 litres of treated water.

“In addition to the tanker fleet, PBAPP is also installing 97 static water tanks to store water for affected users.

“These tanks include the rented ‘Elephant Flexi Tank’ with a maximum capacity of 24,000 litres per tank,” he said in a statement today.

He noted that 19 units of the Elephant Flexi Tanks will be placed in Balik Pulau, Batu Maung, Batu Uban, Bukit Tengah, Bayan Lepas, Jawi, Pantai Jerejak, Paya Terubong, Pulau Betong, and Sungai Acheh.

“A total of 78 regular static tanks with a capacity of 2,500 litres each will be placed in all affected areas,” he said.

Pathmanathan said all static tanks provided by elected representatives will be periodically filled by the tanker fleet.

He added that PBAPP plans to supply about 1.85 million litres of treated water during the disruption period through the tanker trucks and static tanks placed in the affected areas.

Previously, PBAPP announced that about 590,000 users, including non-domestic consumers, would experience a scheduled water disruption for 96 hours from 6am on Jan 10 to 6am on Jan 14.

This is to facilitate the replacement of two valves at the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant and other ancillary works at 22 locations across Penang.

However, PBAPP expects at least 101 areas in the Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) and Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) districts to receive water supply after 48 hours, while 157 areas involving the districts of SPT, Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS), Timur Laut, and Barat Daya on the island will begin to receive water supply after 72 hours.

- Bernama