The Oldest Water Treatment Plant in Malaysia

Time flies.

It had been 30 over years since my last picnics with my varsity maids at the Botanic Gardens of Penang and the hike up of Penang Hill from the Moon Gate entrance with my secondary school mates. Since then I has never set foot at the Botanic Gardens until last Saturday on November 15, 2008, when I attended a guided walk at Botanic Gardens organized by the Friends of the Penang Botanic Gardens Society.

The main attractions of the guided walk, according to my closed friend, Mr. Low Chan Huat, was to visit the oldest water treatment plant in Malaysia and to be at a close proximity with the Waterfall of Penang as these two places are restricted areas since the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1962-1966).

We were told by the organizer to assemble at Botanika Outreach, the society office, opposite the Moon Gate before 8.45 am and started to walk up to the treatment plant at 9.10 am. About 30 persons participated in this guided walk. Mr. Clamen guided us in this walk.

It took us a leisure walk of 20 minutes up the slope in the Botanic Gardens to reach the Waterfall Treatment Plant. It was built 200 years ago at 1804 by the British colonial government. The treatment plant is nestled on a hillside, 70.88 metres above sea level, overlooking the Penang Botanic Gardens. It is blessed with a refreshing waterfall with a drop of approximately 30 metres. The main source of water for the Waterfall Treatment Plant is Sungai Air Terjun which flows downhill from Penang Hill.

We were met by the person in charge of water treatment at the PBA office. He explained to us how raw water from the waterfall was treated and kept in the reservoir before it was pipelined for the household use.

An oval shaped reservoir was built adjacent to the treatment plant in 1892. It was reconstructed in 1950 by an English engineer, J Mac Ritchie. It has a capacity of 22 million liters of water supplying to 10 thousand people in the neighborhood of Georgetown including Penang General Hospital, Pulau Pikus, Jesselton Road, Western Road and Brown Road.

From the treatment plant we walked up hundred of staircases to take a closer look at the waterfall of Penang. One would marvel to see the water running down from atop the hill unceasingly over the last few hundreds of years. Those who had brought the cameras would loose no chance and waste no time to snap photographs of the waterfall for remembrance. Though I did bring my camera; I was no better of than those who did not bring as my camera became handicapped as its battery ran low. I could not even snap a single shot out of it. Luckily I had a closed friend with me to be my photographer. He snatched a few photographs for me; otherwise I would have to make another trip next round if I insisted to have a photograph with the waterfall as my background. We stayed there for half an hour or so to enjoy the ‘better than air-con’ cooling air and the soothing environment while at the same time not forgetting to take a sip of hot coffee provided by my dear friend.

By 11.00 am we had to say goodbye to the waterfall as it was time for the activity to come to an end.