600km of ageing pipes replaced

MORE than 600km of old water pipes have been replaced by the Johor government in the last three years with an annual allocation of RM200mil.

Johor works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said there were over 6,000km of old pipes that were more than 10 years old in the state.

“The state government started to replace all old pipes three years ago and as of last year, 600km in total were replaced.

“We can only change about 200km a year, as some of these pipes are now underneath new buildings and houses.

“So, our solution now is to replace what we can every year,” he said after conducting a roundtable discussion between Felda Bukit Permai villagers and Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd at Dewan Kampung Murni Jaya in Kulai.

Also present was Bukit Permai assemblyman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, who is also Johor housing and local government committee chairman.

Mohamad Fazli said replacing the old pipes was part of the state government’s efforts to reduce non-revenue water.

“We currently have about 20% non-revenue water, which is one of the lowest records in the country,” he added.

In addition, Mohamad Fazli said the government had allocated RM9mil to solve water issues in Felda Bukit Permai.

“The first phase will involve replacing old main pipes, which cost RM3mil,” he said.

“The project will start in February and be completed in March this year.

“The second phase is replacing old water pumps with new ones, which cost around RM6mil, so that we can increase water pressure in the village, which is located on hilly terrain.”

Once completed, it will also address water issues for 221 households in five villages in Felda Bukit Permai namely Kampung Seri Muar, Kampung Murni Jaya, Kampung Tersusun, Kampung Sungai Besoi and Kampung Agas.

Separately, Mohd Jafni said Johor had set up a technical committee under the Greater Johor Baru (JB) agenda to study future flood retention development that would ensure all projects were sustainable.

This was based on a recent flood incident in Johor Baru, which recorded extreme rainfall of more than 60mm, he added.

“Some of the drain specifications that we have in Johor Baru were developed 30 years ago and can only withstand rainfall of between 20mm and 30mm per hour.

“However, the recent rainfall record we have was between 60mm and 70mm per hour, which was abnormal.

“As such, the state government introduced the Greater JB Flood Mitigation Committee to carry out a technical study on our drainage systems and whether they are adequate to hold at least 100mm of water,” he said.