KUALA LUMPUR: There should be no more flash floods in Kuala Lumpur.

Datuk Paduka Keizrul Abdullah

 This was the assurance given by Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) director-general Datuk Paduka Keizrul Abdullah at a briefing on the result of a test of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart) system at its Motorway Control Centre yesterday.

The tunnel, which cost about RM2 billion and took four years to build, is having its first trial run.

"The flood test was a success. If the tunnel had been ready on June 10, the floods in Kuala Lumpur would not have happened," Keizrul said.

He explained that the June 10 flood was caused by an overflow of two million cubic metres of water from the Klang river.

"The tunnel plus its two storage reservoirs can take up to three million cubic metres of water."

The trial run, which started on Sunday, saw one million cubic metres of water poured and sealed into the three levels of the tunnel for 1½ days.

"It was 99.5 per cent perfect," Keizrul said. "We never doubted the ability of the tunnel and it was good to be able to finally prove it."

The trial run, which is expected to wrap up before Friday, included tests on the water flow to make sure that the floodgates were functioning and the tunnel was water tight.

Keizrul said there were two problems: One of the 260 surveillance cameras in the tunnel was not functioning and water was seeping through one of the emergency escape doors.

He added that these were minor problems.

Keizrul said an additional basin capable of holding four million cubic metres of water would be completed in Kampung Batu by the end of this month and another basin capable of containing two million cubic metres of water would be built near the Jinjang river by year end.

Upon completion, the tunnel would be able to divert nine million cubic metres of flood water.

Source: NST, 22-Aug-2007