As officials insisted Macau has enough water supply to last for another week, Inside Asian Gaming witnessed the extraordinary sight of locals lining up on the streets for an hour or more to fill bottles and buckets from fire hydrants.
Residents were being urged on Thursday to avoid taking water from fire hoses and hydrants, but many were taking matters into their own hands with supermarket supplies running dry and thousands of households without running water after Typhoon Hato lashed the city on Wednesday afternoon.
At an emergency press conference, the Vice General Manager Macao Water, Oscar Chu, said he understood that residents were in desperate need of water but implored them not to take water from fire hoses and fire hydrants as it would reduce water pressure. He likened it to drawing even more blood from a body already suffering blood loss.
The water shortage is a result of damage to three water treatment plants caused by floods, with Macao Water announcing Thursday that it had sent an emergency team to “repair them immediately.”
“The team is working day and night and the facilities in Main Reservoir and Coloane were repaired last night (Wednesday). However, the complex situation on site in Ilha Verde and the power blackout added to the difficulty of repair works and it takes longer to restore water supply. The power, pumping and dosing facilities are being repaired with affected parts being replaced. The company strives to reopen the plant and to resume partial operation as soon as possible.”
Macao Water announced that it had set up temporary water supply points at Beco do Padre António Roliz, Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, Rua de Manuel de Arriaga, Travessa da Barca, Edificio Mong Sin, Avenida de Venceslau de Morais and McDonald’s at Fai Chi Kei. It also said that the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau had delivered two water supply tanks for temporary water supplies, stopping in a number of locations including Toi San, Iao Hon, Areia Preta, Complexo Municipal Do Mercado de S. Lourenço, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, Mercado Municipal Almirante Lacerda.
As of this morning (Friday), there are still many areas of Macau with no water supply.
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