SANDAKAN: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Member of Parliament for Sandakan, Vivian Wong, in a statement issued today chided the irresponsible personnel for vandalising and damaging the rivergate at the Segaliud River, causing the infiltration of seawater into the Segaliud holding dam, resulted in the unusually high salinity level in the water supply system.
She made the above statement after being briefed by Jabatan Air engineer regarding the recent water supply quality issue in Sandakan which produces a salty taste.
According to Jabatan Air, police report has been lodged when they discovered that the rivergate at Segaliud River was found damaged and cable were stolen las month. As a result of the damaged, they could not flush out the sea water in the system, especially during the super high tide event last month. At the moment, Jabatan Air is pumping water from the river to the dam in order to reduce the salinity level in the water supply system. Jabatan Air is closely monitoring the issue and assures that water supply currently is still safe for consumption.
“I urge the police and enforcement agencies to take stern action against those who are responsible for causing the damages. Their thoughtless action has caused sufferings to hundreds of thousands of people in Sandakan”, said Vivian.
“While waiting for the replacement parts to arrive from overseas, Jabatan Air also suggested to do cloud seeding at Segaliud area to induce rain in order to further reduce the level of salinity. I will follow up with the Meteorology Department MetMalaysia Sabah and other relevant agencies to expedite the process to further improve the quality of our water supply”, added Vivian.
