Extreme Weather Due To Soak Pump Devices, Riau Islands PDAM Stop Distribution Of Water At 5000 Customers

Tirta Kepri PDAM technician team repaired cables on electrical panels that were submerged in seawater in the Gesek Reservoir, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands, Sunday.ANTARA

TANJUNGPINANG - Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) Tirta Riau Islands (Kepri) was forced to temporarily stop the distribution of water to 5,000 customer houses in Tanjungpinang City, due to extreme weather.

Director of PDAM Tirta Kepri Mamat in Tanjungpinang, said that high tides had occurred since 11.00 WIB causing electrical panel cables in the Gesek Reservoir, Bintan Regency to be flooded. The electricity panel had to be turned off so that the water pump engine could not operate.

The water pump engine is back active after the sea water recedes. Currently, the condition of the sea water is gradually receding.

"The electricity panels are already in a high position, but the cables are still open below so they are submerged in water. Currently, the technical team is trying to increase the power lines while waiting for the sea water to recede," he said.

The Gesek Reservoir is near the waters of Kawal so that several times sea water enters at that time. The seawater also submerges the land on the lips of the reservoir so that its knees are adults.

Based on observations, three technicians from PDAM Tirta Riau Islands are in a small building that is used as a place for electrical panels. The water as high as the knee of an adult still inundated the building about three meters high.

"We apologize to customers because the service has become disrupted. We seek as soon as possible so that the distribution of water can return to normal," he said.

Member of Commission II of the Riau Islands DPRD Rudy Chua regretted that the electrical panels in the Gesek Reservoir were still submerged in water, just like the incident two years ago when the tide submerged the village of Gesek.

According to him, this problem should not be repeated again because PDAM Tirta Kepri in 2021 also has a commitment to place engine pumps and electrical panels in buildings that are not touched by water.

This week, he said, the PDAM Tirta Kepri pump engine in the Gesek Reservoir was extinguished twice.

"This negligence causes services to thousands of people to be disrupted. We hope that PDAM Tirta Kepri takes this issue seriously so that the same incident does not happen again," he said.