PAITAN: Residents in the sub-district of Paitan will have clean water with the commissioning of the RM33.81 million alternative water supply project here.
Completed in March this year, the project, under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, which comprises the construction of raw water intake, treatment plant, reservoir, treated water transmission, administration office and staff quarters among others can produce 2Mld (million litres a day) of water and supply 12 villages in the sub-district with clean water.
According to Deputy Public Works Department director Lim Lam Beng, the project would significantly improve access to water supply for approximately 650 households in Kg Kabuluh, Kg Batangon Darat, Kg Batangon Laut, Kg Bina Baru, Kg Tanjung Nipis 1 and 2, Kg Dalamas, Kg Tabatu, Kg Simpangan, Pekan Paitan, Kg Kobambangan and Kg Binanjar.
Briefing Deputy Chief Minister cum Infrastructure Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan during the latter’s visit to the water treatment plant yesterday, Lim said the demand projection showed that a total of 2Mld is needed to meet year 2025 demand of the sub-district.
Pairin, who is on a two-day inspection road trip of the infrastructure facilities from Paitan to Sandakan, visited the treatment plant yesterday and was briefed about the project.
“Before the implementation of this project, there was no potable water supply in Paitan. Rainwater harvesting and untreated river water was the source of water for most of the villages.
“The lack of water supply was one of the major reasons for the lack of development in Paitan. Therefore, the need of a proper water supply system for Paitan is essential in order to cater to the water demand for both existing and future developments,” Pairin was told.
According to Lim, the intake works was situated at Kg Tabatu which is approximately 5.62 kilometres from the water treatment plant. It draws water from Sg Kawananan.
The plant produces 2Mld of treated water and as the current demand was only half of that, there is excess to cater for future developments, he added.
Lim said that at the moment water has yet to be supplied to the households as the owners have to apply for it though the Water Department first.
“We have about 150 applications now and they can get water supplied to their houses within a week of the application approval,” he said, adding that the issue was not about the water supply but the inability of the applicants to pay the necessary fees as well as pay for the installation of pipes to their houses.
“Most are low income earners and we understand their situation. The water supply is ready to be connected as soon as their applications are approved and they have installed the pipes from the houses to the main pipes,” he said.
A representative of the villagers, Redzuan Abdullah who was present at the briefing appealed to the government through Pairin to assist them to install the pipes to the houses as the villagers cannot afford to do so.
Redzuan said as most of the villagers are farmers, who do not have a fixed income and it is expensive to install the pipes to their houses some which are located more than a mile from the main water pipes.
“It will cost more than RM500 to have the pipes installed and another RM130 for the water meter and connection fees. So we really hope that the government can help us out with this issue,” Redzuan said.
Pairin advised him and the villagers to write in to their respective assemblymen with the request to be forwarded to him for consideration.
During the site inspection, Pairin also performed a symbolic commissioning of the water treatment plant.
Accompanying Pairin on the road trip were Assistant Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Bobbey Suan, PWD director Datuk John Anthony, the department’s deputy directors and permanent secretary.
Those present at the treatment plant included Beluran District Officer Yusof Osman, his Paitan counterpart Elias Abd Hamid, PBS Paitan divisional chief Datuk Jubilee KK Zen, representatives of the Labuk and Sugut assemblymen, the project contractor and PWD officers.
