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Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the level at the Air Itam dam has dropped to 67% after more water was drawn there to overcome the recent shortage caused by a burst pipe on the mainland.
He said the dam was at 83% capacity before the incident.
The production of water at the dam had been doubled from 22 million litres a day (MLD) to 40 MLD.
“We expect the level to continue dropping next week,” he told reporters at Batu Kawan today.
“The current 67% level will last about 60 days. This is not critical, but in this hot and dry season, we would like to urge people to save water.”
The burst pipe incident involved a major supply line under Sungai Perai, which caused water cuts in parts of the state for almost a week.
Next week, the Penang Water Supply Corporation will cut water supply to most parts of the state to enable major repairs to a supply pipe between Jan 10 and 14.
A total of 590,000 consumers, including non-domestic, are expected to be affected by the five-day closure of the Sungai Dua water treatment plant for the replacement of damaged valves and ancillary work at 22 other locations.
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) in Penang said a large number of its 500 members will halt operations for two days from Jan 10.
Penang FMM chairman Lee Tiong Li said these factories will have to close as they rely on large amounts of water in their manufacturing, such as food processing, polishing and metal fabrication.
Meanwhile, schoolchildren in Penang will be allowed to have lessons at home for three days from Jan 10.
State deputy education director Wan Sajiri Wan Hassan was reported to have said Form Five and pre-university students must go to school as usual to sit for their scheduled examinations.
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