PUTATAN: The State Water Department (JANS) is working to reduce the non-revenue water (NRW) rate to below 40 per cent through a programme implemented over the past year.
Deputy Chief Minister III cum Public Works Minister Datuk Ir. Shahelmey Yahya said JANS has successfully lowered the NRW rate from 60 per cent to 56 per cent.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“So far, we have managed to bring it down to 56 per cent, approaching the previous target of 54 per cent, through the NRW programme currently in place. We are striving to further reduce NRW to below 40 per cent.
“However, this will not happen overnight; it will take time, especially with ongoing challenges such as illegal connections.
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Shahelmey was responding to questions about the latest NRW rate following recent comments by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who announced that NRW had been successfully reduced from 60 per cent.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Shahelmey, who is also Putatan MP, highlighted two main challenges JANS faces in addressing the State’s water supply issues.
“At the water production level, involving the Water Treatment Plants (LRA), the treatment process is disrupted by heavy rain, flooding and high turbidity levels, which force the plant to shut down until water quality falls within the permissible range for treatment. Additionally, we face technical issues at the plants due to ageing equipment that requires urgent repairs.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“At the distribution level, NRW is linked to pipe bursts caused by old infrastructure, ongoing construction work and illegal connections,” he said.
He hoped the ongoing programmes under JANS would help recover water losses caused by NRW.
“At the same time, we have an NRW reduction programme that has been running for the past year, with another year to go.
“If successfully implemented in Kota Kinabalu, we hope to recover 10 million litres of water per day lost due to NRW.
“The State Government has also appointed several contractors to maintain ageing pipes and ensure that repairs are carried out promptly in the event of pipe bursts,” he added.
Asked about the progress of the Telibong Water Treatment Plant Phase 2 (LRA Telibong Fasa 2), Shahelmey confirmed that it is already operational but currently undergoing repairs due to pump malfunctions.
“However, the plant is only producing at 20 per cent capacity because the new pipeline to distribute water to the Sepanggar area is still under construction.
“We expect construction to be completed by June or July this year. Once finished, the plant will be able to operate at full capacity to supply water to consumers,” he said.