Call for concrete plans to resolve Tawau water woes

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TAWAU: Parti Gerakan Complaints Bureau chief James Leong Yun Fui has called for concrete plans to resolve the water supply shortage faced by consumers here.

The government, the local authority and the Water Department should by now have in place short-term and long-term plans for solving the water shortage and water pollution problem faced by Tawau residents for so many years, he said.

He said the government and the relevant parties should take this matter seriously and take necessary immediate action to ensure all the residents here get sufficient clean water.

“Although the leaking pipe problem appears to have been solved, there is now the matter of water supply disruption which is causing many residents to be without water, especially during the prevailing dry season.

“The low water level in the river has made it difficult for the water treatment plant to source water from the river,” James said after receiving several complaints from residents experiencing water shortage problem due to prevailing dry weather..

“This is not the first time this kind of situation has occurred in Tawau but many times over the years. There should be an improvement and a contingency plan developed to ensure the residents here would be able to get sufficient clean water supply for their daily use.

“As an alternative solution, perhaps the government should look into the suitability of the location of the present water plant at Timatch here and consider whether to relocate to a better location. The area surrounding the present water plant appears to be overwhelmingly populated by many people and the Tawau river is also found to be severely polluted with rubbish,”he pointed out.

Leong raised the question as to how will the people here be going to live if the river is completely dried up one day as he believed the use of mobile water tankers would not be able to fulfil the needs of the Tawau residents.

As the building of a water plant may take about three years, he hoped the government would take notice of this and act accordingly. Local leaders, including the members of parliament and state assemblymen should also focus their undivided attention to this problem toward a satisfactory conclusion.

On top of this, Leong is also urging the government to take serious steps to combat any illegal logging activities as this has an adverse effect on the water eco system.