Saturday, July 30, 2011

The Malaysia Water Company: Sains

This is the second time the Malaysia water company known as Sains has dug a big hole in front of the house. And they have dug holes a number of times in our neighborhood and in the immediate area since we have lived in the house. There seems to be constant water pipe bursts and leaks. I have read about it and heard from others this is a common problem in Malaysia.
So in this case, like the time before, they dig a big hole which looks ominous. Then they look inside the hole for a long time. Not sure what they are doing. Then they fill it back up and a few days later the asphalt team comes and covers it with fresh asphalt. There are tons of fresh asphalt patches all over Malaysia's roads too.

We shouldn't complain because water in Malaysia is cheap. Our bill for a generous amount of water each month including some gardening watering comes to 5 RM (about $1.70 USD) per month. Sometimes a couple RMs more.

I should say that this does not include drinking water because we do not drink the tap water here. We drink bottled water which is a sizable expense of about $30 USD a month.

5 comments:

  1. I wonder why there are constant water pipe bursts? Is it just shoddy workmanship? I guess the attitude of a majority of tradesmen in those fields are the same world wide. In Australia, if you have some issue along similar lines, such as a leaky pipe in your wall, the plumber would rock up, ruin your plaster getting into the wall, then he'd uhm & ahhh for about an hour and then refer you to someone else!

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  2. Yeah, the frequency of digging speaks volumes for the quality of work and material used. At least they know where to look for the leaks. Had an experience where a water distribution company had no idea where the leak was, and they were digging all over along the road! Not to mention 3 days without water.

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  3. Your water bill is very low! Mine average about RM30, after deducting RM 10 subsidy from Selangor state government. We use water filters on the tap water, then boil the water before we drink it. People used to say that bottled water costs more than gasoline.

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  4. my hub told me that 40% water (in Malaysia) are lost due to pipe burst, leakage and etc.

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  5. Oh dear, there are constant water pipe bursts and leaks outside our apartment too! Our water bill used to be RM3 per month, now suddenly up to RM15.

    Duncan In Kuantan

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