FAQ

Bills

In the event you do not receive your water bills at least once in three months…

Report to the nearest office of the Water Department. Water bill is issued monthly or once every three (3) months depending on the type of accounts. 

In the event that you transfer the ownership of your land or building via sales and purchase...

Make sure the existing account is closed and all current and overdue / outstanding bills are settled, otherwise application of new account on the same premises will not be approved. 

When intending to acquire land and building through a sales and purchase or auction or a take over through a will.

Refer to the Water Department to ensure there is no outstanding bills left unpaid by the owner or registered owner of the land and building. The Water Enactment provides that the new owner shall be liable on accounts still existing at the premises. 

In the event that there is an unpaid bill when the land and building is acquired via sales and purchase, will or auction, who is responsibe to pay?

The Water Enactment provides that the new owner shall be liable on the account still existing at the premises. 

Before you rent any land or building.…

Refer to the Water Department to ensure there is no outstanding bills on the premises. 

When a tenant vacates any land or building at the end of the lease or otherwise, leaving unsettled bills….

A fresh application by a new oncoming tenant is not allowed until the outstanding bill is fully paid. In this case, the landlord is liable to settle the unpaid bills. 

Can an application for a new account be approved if there is an existing account with an outstanding bill?

No. All outstanding bills will have to be settled and the existing account has to be closed before an application for a new account can be approved. 

If you had formerly occupied any Government quarters and left without settling your bill in full....

Before vacating the quarters, you must settle all outstanding bills and close your account. Failure to do so, the outstanding amount will be transferred to your new account and the Water Department will highlight your failure to do so to your Head of Department. In the case where you are transferred outside Sabah or you do not have any water account elsewhere in Sabah, payment of your outstanding water bill will be dealt through your Head of Department, or by legal means when that too fails. 

When the premises is under the account of the owner, and you intend to vacate it after you have overpaid the water bill....

You are responsible to ask the owner of the premises to request for a refund from the Water Department. Only registered owner has legal rights for any refund. 

Can I register a new account on the same land to different premises? Example: land owned by my father and we (brother & sister) build separate houses there....

You are allowed to do that but its approval will be subjected to the status of the existing water accounts on the same land and the water supply is sufficient. 

I am the registered owner of the premises but the water account is under my tenant’s name, If he / she has problems, can I request the Department to disconnect the supply to that premises…

No. Your tenant is a registered consumer of the Water Department when he entered into a legal agreement for water supply with the State Water Authority. Any disconnection that you require will be by the Order of a Court. Any legal bind between you and your tenant, shall be by virtue of the Tenancy Agreement which both parties has entered before. 

I received a water supply Disconnection Notice…

Make immediate payment at the office of the Water Department. If you pay at a Post Office or any other payment counters, you will have to bring the payment receipt to the office of the Water Department for updating to avoid disconnection of your water supply. 

Can I settle my bill on installment basis upon Issuance of a water supply Disconnection Notice against me?

Yes. Installment payments are allowed and can only be arranged at the office of the Water Department. 

Supposing my request to pay by instalment is approved, what are the terms and conditions that apply…

You will be required to sign an Instalment Payment Agreement where the monthly terms of payment for the agreed sum will be prescribed. At any time a bill for current usage is issued to you, it must be paid in full, without failing to pay the installment sum as prescribed. A breach of the terms will result your supply to be disconnected without notice. 

Supposing I am late in paying my monthly instalment, will I be penalised?

No. Water Department will not impose any penalty. Your water supply will be disconnected without notice if you fail to pay the instalment amount on the specified dates. However, this failure can amount to a legal action taken against you. 

Water Meter

Whose responsibility to maintain the pipeline after the water meter?

Registered owner / Occupier. 

Who is responsible to pay for any exorbitant bill caused by leakages after the meter?

Registered owner / Occupier 

Whose responsibility to safeguard the safety of the water meter?

Registered owner / Occupier. Water Meter is the property of the Government and shall remain so. It should not be tampered with, relocated or vandalised. 

Supposing your water meter is no where to be seen.....

Make a police report on the lost and submit a copy of the police report to the office of the Water Department. New meter will be installed as soon as payment for a replacement meter is done by the owner / occupier of the premises. 

Can a water pump or any device that increases the water pressure be installed?

A water pump or any devices which is used to increase water pressure can only be installed after the balancing tank. It is an offence if such device is installed in other location of the piping system. 

I supplied water to my neighbour’s premises through my water meter….

You have committed an offence for having done that. 

Dam and Reservoir

Does Babagon dam cause floods or make floods worse in Penampang?

No, the dam does not have any operational outlet valve to release water into the river.  Water is  only release to the Moyog treatment plant via a pipeline and eventually to consumers.

Then how do you explain that sometimes during the rainy season large amount of water can be seen flowing out from the dam into the river?

When the dam becomes full during the rainy season, excess water will overflow at the spillway into the river.  This is the natural amount of water flowing from the Babagon catchment into the river.  The dam does not add to this amount.

Babagon dam has sirens. Where and what is the purpose of the sirens?

There are three sirens which  are located at the dam, at the Sekolah Rendah kebangsaan Tampasak and at the Jalan Tambunan road junction. When the dam is about to overflow the sirens will automatically be triggered warning people to stay clear from the river.  This warning is clearly shown on signboards placed at various locations along the river adjacent to the dam.

How safe is Babagon Dam against large storms?

The spillway of the Babagon Dam has been designed to discharge the probable maximum flood inflow (PMF) of 2560 cubic meters per second.  Such a flood has a probability of the order of 1 in 10,000 years.  The spill tail canal can safely discharge a 1 in 1000 years flood which is 810 cubic metres per second.  Even the PMF will not endanger the dam although it may overflow the banks of the spill way canal.

How safe is Babagon Dam against earthquakes?

Sabah has had earthquakes of intensities on the Richter scale of 5.7 at Kudat and 7.0 at Ranau.  On this basis, it has been deduced that if an earthquake were to occur in Kota Kinabalu, its intensity should not exceed 5.5 on the Richter scale.  The embankment dam and the intake tower have been designed to withstand an earthquake of such an intensity.

What is the lifespan of the Babagon Dam and Reservoir?

The life of rockfill embankments such as Babagon dam is indefinite (ie it lasts forever) so long as maintenance and inspection are carried out regularly. Babagon Dam is subjected to a safety review by dam experts every five years and  is monitored continuously by telemetry with daily inspections carried out by operational personnel.

Has all international standards been followed in respect of the design of Babagon Dam?

The design of Babagon Dam have followed guidelines by the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) and Australia National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) as well as complying with  relevant International and Australian Codes and Standards.