Water supply disrupted for 300,000 people in Johor Bahru, some turn to petrol station bathrooms

An estimated 300,000 people in Johor Bahru are experiencing unplanned water disruptions following pump failures at the Sungai Johor water treatment plant.

All six raw water pumps at the plant were damaged after being submerged during heavy rainfall on May 20, water operator Ranhill SAJ said.

According to an update on the company’s Facebook page, the affected areas include the city centre, Tebrau, Tiram, Kempas, Skudai, Iskandar Puteri, and Bukit Indah.

As of May 23, Ranhill SAJ stated that water supply has been restored to 57 per cent of consumers with repair works all completed.

Getting water at petrol station

Approximately 100,000 account holders, impacting an estimated 300,000 people, have been affected by the disruption.

Some residents have resorted to using toilets and showers at nearby petrol stations, The Star reported.

Others are relying on bottled water to get through daily routines.

A 50-year-old daily wage earner, Faridah Zainuddin, told the outlet that she had to walk to a petrol station near her home just to wash up for prayers and use the restroom.

“The water disruption has affected my house and the place where I work. So, I have no choice but to use the petrol station for now," she said, adding that the restaurant where she worked was also forced to close.

Meanwhile, coffee shop owner Roland Lim, 70, is using the bathrooms at his workers’ hostel after the taps in his home in Taman Kim Teng Park ran dry.

“It is very frustrating as we had to make last-minute arrangements just to carry out our daily routines. I did not expect the water disruption to last this long, especially since we did not receive any notice," he said.

Lim, who is also the Johor Bahru and Hawker Association president, said some of his members have had to shut down their ­eateries as they could not find alternative sources of water.

He expressed disappointment with the water operator, saying they "responded very slowly to this crisis and seem unprepared".

Water tank

Photos and videos posted online show residents queuing to collect water from water tanks.

Residents were also seen filling water into various bottles and buckets.

Water restoration

While Ranhill SAJ had promised that the pumps were to be repaired completely by midnight of May 21, it took longer than expected.

Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi has since ordered Ranhill SAJ to hold a crisis meeting to expedite repairs.

“The pumps were supposed to be repaired completely on Wednesday (May 21), but they are still a problem,” he later told the Johor state assembly in a special address.

He added that other districts had been instructed to send water tankers and bottled water to the affected areas.

Ranhill SAJ has also deployed 16 water tankers to critical locations, including hospitals and dialysis centres.

Top photo from JB TRACER II and 新山邻里群/Facebook