Penangites geared up for water disruption

BUTTERWORTH: For school canteen operator Nurul Zalika Atillia Zafri, it will be a case of “keep cooking and carry on” even in the absence of water supply for four days starting Jan 10.

She’s well prepared. There are now 360 1.5-litre bottles of drinking water stacked high in her stall.

“I am looking to buy more containers to store tap water for washing too,” said Nurul Zalika, who runs a canteen at a primary school here.

While some hawkers and eateries are closing for a few days when the Penang Water Supply Corporation carries out valve replacements at the state’s largest water treatment plant in North Seberang Prai, Nurul Zalika intends to keep serving the children.

The school will not close for the scheduled 96-hour water supply disruption from Jan 10. It has about 1,000 pupils, teachers and other school workers.

Nurul Zalika, 31, will fortunately need not wash the plates and cups, as her stall has been using disposable ones for the past one year.

Another primary school canteen operator, Mohd Amirul Zamil, 32, said he needs to buy at least five big water containers for washing utensils.

Although the school has emergency water tanks, he said they are enough to keep the supply going only for 24 hours.

For now, he said he has yet to finish buying bottled water for cooking and serving drinks.

On the island, a school canteen operator, who wanted to be known only as Ben, said he faces a similar dilemma.

“The school administration said the state Education Department only asked us to use water wisely and make early preparations,” he said, adding that he is worried that after buying many water containers, he will hardly use them again in the future.

As for public eateries, Seberang Prai Hawkers and Coffee Shop Owners Association president Lee Kok Yong said almost all of its 400 members will continue to operate during the water disruption.

“Most of our members can’t afford to close their shops for many days because they need to pay their rent daily,” he said.

He said members are taking their own initiative by storing water to use during the supply disruption.

Some shops and stalls have planned on shortening their business time and serving only during peak hours during the four days of the water cut.