Kelantan residents use old reliable way to deal with water cuts

In a country with modern plumbing and facilities, having a water well when you also have a washing machine might seem out of place.

But for residents in Kelantan, having a water well makes a lot of difference whenever there is water disruption - which they say can be quite frequent.

A raw water pipe leakage in Kampung Pulai Chondong, Machang, had disrupted the water supply for 32,000 households in Machang, Pasir Putih, and Kota Bharu.

For those living in modern housing that rely solely on tap water, residents are forced to line up with buckets to get water from trucks.

However, a check by Malaysiakini at the affected areas found that those who still maintained wells were relatively unperturbed by the water disruption.

One of those fortunate enough to still have a water well at home was Maziani Mohamed, 38, whose family had maintained the well despite having water supplied by Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) for the past 20 years.

"We are forced to maintain the well even though we've been AKSB customers for 20 years, because the water supply is often disrupted.

"Sometimes the water (from the pipes) is of bad quality, it's dirty and rusty.

"But with the well, we can use it as a secondary source if there's water disruption," he told Malaysiakini when met at Kampung Cherodok, Machang.

Backup for residents

Meanwhile, over in Kampung Jakar, Machang, 66-year-old Rugayah Ali said her family had dug up a well in the 80s which still provides them clean water to this day.

"If the water supplied by AKSB is disrupted, we don't have too much of a problem because we can use the well. It's just a bit difficult since we can't use the pipes," she added.

In Pasir Putih, Wan Muhammad Baihaqi Wan Hamat, 30, said many Kampung Permatang Rambai residents had either wells or alternative sources of water such as tube wells.

Again, he said this served residents as a backup should the public water supply be disrupted.

Others, however, have turned to more modern methods.

Rosli Abdullah, 50, has equipped his home in Taman Wadi Iman, Kok Lanas, with an extra water tank to deal with water supply cuts.

"The tank is used to store water that is rationed out by AKSB.

"We depend completely on the government's water supply, so if there's a disruption we have to ration and store water for daily use," he said.

AKSB recently said it would embark on a project to replace 4,000km of old pipes by 2030.

The project will cost up to RM1.7 billion, which AKSB plans to implement with federal grants.

Kelantan is not the only state with water woes.

The Klang Valley had frequently been hit by water cuts last year due to water pollution, burst pipes, and other reasons.