Water cut in Penang: is it your area, and what to do

The short version

• Call PBAPP's 24-hour call centre: 04 255 8 255. PBAPP has also given 04 509 6 509 as a second call centre number.
• Is it planned? PBAPP's website links to its water supply interruption notices. The myPBA app also shows the latest interruption notices.
• Is it an emergency? For a burst main or a sudden cut, PBAPP posts updates on its Notices Facebook page and in media releases on its website.
• Long planned cut? PBAPP has placed water tanks in neighbourhoods and refilled them by tanker. Its notices say where.
• Store water before a planned cut. PBAPP asks consumers to store enough for the whole projected period.

Who to call

PBAPP's customer care centres are open for enquiries from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, and for payments from 8:15 am to 4:30 pm. The centres are in Balik Pulau, Bayan Baru, Bukit Mertajam, Jawi, Kepala Batas, Komtar, Perai, Rifle Range (Air Itam) and Taman Selat (Butterworth).

Sources: PBAPP customer care centres and PBAPP media release, 25 April 2025, read 2026-10-14.

Is my area affected?

1. Planned cuts: PBAPP's Customer Services and Notices page links to its Water Supply Interruption Notice site.
2. The myPBA app (Android and iOS) shows the latest notices on water supply interruptions, as well as letting you pay bills.
3. Unplanned cuts: PBAPP's media releases list affected areas in an appendix, split into "low water pressure" and "no water". The releases tell consumers to check PBAPP's Notices Facebook page for recovery updates.

Sources: PBAPP customer services and notices, myPBA app and PBAPP media release, 13 October 2026, read 2026-10-14.

Why water comes back slowly

Two PBAPP releases from October 2026 show how it works:

• 13 October 2026: a burst 300mm pipeline in Kampung Lokan, Seberang Perai Utara, caused an unscheduled interruption affecting 130,790 water consumers in Seberang Perai Utara and on the island. PBAPP said supply would be restored in stages. PBAPP does not publish a target time for restoring supply after an unscheduled cut.
• 9 October 2026: a sudden TNB power outage shut down the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant at 11.17pm on 8 October. PBAPP explained that after a shutdown, treatment units and pumps must be restarted in sequence, chemical dosing restored, trapped air released and pressure rebuilt before normal supply can resume.

In April 2025, PBAPP said "upstream" consumers closer to Sungai Dua get water back before "downstream" consumers further away. It also said "no water" problems first show up in end-of-line and high-ground areas when many people store water at the same time.

Sources: PBAPP media releases of 13 October 2026, 9 October 2026, 22 April 2025 and 25 April 2025, read 2026-10-14.

Tankers and water tanks

For a long scheduled interruption, PBAPP runs a "Water Relief Plan". For the April 2025 interruption, it deployed 80 water tankers to fill and refill 182 water tanks placed at strategic locations: 87 tanks on the island and 95 in Seberang Perai. Domestic consumers could collect water from the tanks in their own neighbourhoods. PBAPP published the tank locations on its website and Facebook page.

Tanks were taken away in stages as supply came back. PBAPP said the plan would be ended in stages only after 95% water supply recovery.

Sources: PBAPP media releases of 11 April 2025 and 22 April 2025, read 2026-10-14.

Before a planned cut

• Find your area and its projected duration in PBAPP's notice. In April 2025, different areas had 24, 48 or 60 hours.
• Store enough water for the whole period. PBAPP asked consumers to plan ahead for the duration in their own area.
• Start early. PBAPP said in April 2025 that last-minute storage by tens of thousands of households caused "no water" problems even before the cut began.
• End-of-line and high-ground homes usually get water back last. Plan for the longest time given.

Sources: PBAPP media releases of 11 April 2025, 22 April 2025 and 25 April 2025, read 2026-10-14.

Related

• Power cut in Penang
• Who to call in Penang