KOTA KINABALU: Supermarkets are beginning to limit the sale of bottled drinking water to customers in Sandakan amid high demand as consumers complain they have been getting "saline solution" from their taps since late October.
Local stores have often run out of bottled water stocks since then, according to local residents who believe people are buying in bulk in case supplies really get exhausted.
"We cannot use tap water for drinking or cooking - it is salty," said Leong Chee Fah, 50, who has also been buying bottled water.
The plight of residents in the east coast town, with a population of about 300,000, began in late October when sea water mixed with river water at the intake point of the Segaliud Water Treatment Plant after a river gate was damaged.
The gate was finally repaired last month but consumers continued to get salty supply as there was still sea water in the plant's pond/reservoir, said Parti Warisan's Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong.
"It needs to be fully drained. They should also put in a new pipeline direct from the intake to the treatment plant without using water from the pond.
"This could help settle the salty water issue," he said, in urging water officials to monitor the salinity every half hour.
"The people have been paying their monthly bills for salty water supply for almost half a year," he said.
Meanwhile, Warisan vice-president Datuk Junz Wong urged the state to address the current water problems ranging from dry taps to low pressure by going "on a war footing".
He said free bottled water and water tanks should be sent to affected areas.
"The government must allocate a budget to buy water tanks and drinking water for areas such as Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Putatan, Papar and other affected areas.
"They all badly need clean water supply...people are suffering," he added.
